Ransom and Rescue
by arysa13
Summary: Duncan's family gets in trouble financially, and his brother convinces him to kidnap and ransom Princess Courtney. The King, however, has other ideas and refuses to pay the ransom, instead sending out a rescue party. Duncan will have to think up some other way to get his money.
1. Cutpurse

**Chapter One – Cutpurse**

Duncan wandered the market, taking notes in his mind of the vendors that seemed like the easiest targets. He blended in with the crowd easily, he was average looking, a little scruffy, and his clothes were nothing special. This market came to town once a month and it was usually the same crowd who set up stalls and the same people who attended, with a few new faces each month. Duncan made sure to only steal from the fresh ones, as the old ones had begun to recognise him, and he didn't want to draw attention to himself. Most of the people attending the market were seasoned market goers and knew to keep their hands and eyes on their purses at all times, but every now and again Duncan got lucky and would find someone just begging to be robbed.

He usually got them while they were eating lunch, and they never noticed their possessions were gone until much later, when they went to make another purchase, by which stage Duncan was always long gone. He was quite proud of the fact that he'd never been caught… in this town that is. He'd had to move here a few months ago, once he'd been released from prison. He was kind of glad for the move anyway, this town was much bigger and that meant more people to rob, and of course no one here knew his face.

Duncan spotted a girl fawning over some ribbons at one of the stalls and knew he'd found the perfect target. Her pale blue dress was very fine, she was obviously nobility, but not quite royalty. Her pale skin looked like it had never seen the light of day and she'd obviously never done a hard days work in her life. She had blonde hair done up in a braid around her head, and her coin purse was dangling from her shoulder, and she was not paying the slightest bit of attention to it.

Her companion was a little more cautious, her hand never leaving the purse that she had crossed over her body. Duncan followed the girls at a small distance, close enough to hear their conversation, but not close enough that they might turn around and wonder why he was there.

"I'm so glad Her Grace allowed us to come to the market, I've never been before," the blonde said. She walked along, looking at every stall, a gleam in her eye like everything was new and exciting. Duncan couldn't help but chuckle to himself. From the mention of "Her Grace" he could only assume these girls were ladies in waiting of the princess, Duncan had almost forgotten she was passing through. The other girl shook her head. This girl's dress was also blue, although this shade was almost black and her hair was only slightly blacker.

"Only because you annoyed her with all your begging. Still I'm glad to get out of those horrible ivory dresses. They're so stiff," she complained.

"They aren't that bad, Gwen. We really should just have some lunch and head back though, Her Grace needs to be on the road soon if she wants to make it to Evershire by nightfall," the blonde reasoned. Gwen nodded and the two of them found a stall selling hot pies. Once they'd made their purchase, Duncan closed in for the kill. He got out his knife surreptitiously, brushing past the two ladies, cutting the purse strings of the blonde as he did so. Just as he'd hoped, she didn't even notice and continued eating and pointing out interesting things to Gwen.

Duncan ducked behind a building to check out what was in the purse. Sure enough there are several gold pieces. That would be enough to get him through at least a week or two. He didn't need to take anything else today so he paid for some bread at one of the stalls before he headed back home. The bread seller raised an eyebrow when Duncan handed over the gold but didn't say anything. He knew someone who looked like Duncan didn't get the money in an honest way, but it was no damage to him so he let it slide. Duncan thanked him as he handed over the bread and made his way through the back streets to the shack he lived in with his mother and two brothers.

The door of their home was hanging off the hinges and there were holes in the roof, but it was enough to keep them from the weather, and all they could afford. Duncan's father had died in battle, and his older brother didn't earn very much as an apprentice blacksmith, so most of their money came from Duncan. Though he told his mother he did odd jobs for people (and sometimes he actually did), he knew that she knew where he really got the money. It would have been hard to explain to her why they needed to leave town had she not secretly known the truth. Plus there was that whole thing about him being in jail for two months.

"Ma, I'm home!" he called as he threw the loaf of bread and the remaining gold coins onto the wooden table, one of the few pieces of furniture they owned. His mother entered from the bedroom and a smile appeared on her face when she saw what he'd brought.

"Go and get your brother will you? Daniel will be home soon and I've made some soup that will go nice with this bread for our lunch," she instructed.

"Wow, bread and soup in one meal? We must be rolling in gold!" Duncan joked. His mother shook her head with a smile and Duncan headed outside towards the creek to find his younger brother, David. He found him playing in the creek with a couple of other boys, his pants rolled up, but still soaking wet.

"David, it's lunch time," he informed his brother.

"I'm not hungry," David said flippantly, not even looking at Duncan but just continuing to splash around in the shallows. Duncan knew his brother was lying, because David was always hungry. He was probably just sick of the same old thing all the time.

"We've got fresh bread and Ma made soup," Duncan teased in a sing song voice. David pretended not to be excited by the mention of fresh bread but he immediately stopped his game and ran out of the water.

"Can we come too?" one of the kids pleaded.

"Sorry, James, we can't afford to feed all the kids in the neighbourhood," Duncan apologised. James looked disappointed and Duncan couldn't help but feel sorry for him, he knew his family was worse off than his own. He sighed. He had stolen quite a lot that day, and it wouldn't be the first time he's fed James and his sister, as well as the other two boys in the creek.

"On second thought, why not?" Duncan said to James. "Bring your sister."

They waited half an hour for Daniel to come home for lunch but he didn't show so they ate without him, still half expecting him to enter the door at any minute.

"He must have decided to keep working through lunch," their mother reasoned. Duncan nodded, but he couldn't help but feel a little doubt creep in. Daniel always came home for lunch, and if he didn't it meant he didn't eat. Duncan decided to just agree with his mother though, he didn't want to worry her. He spent the rest of the day knocking on doors, asking if anyone had any work they needed doing. While some people were apologetic, everyone waved him away, most of them not being able to afford his services even if they did need something done.

At nightfall, Duncan gave up his efforts and returned home. Daniel was there when he arrived and he grinned at his brother, only to be met by grim faces, lit by only one candle as it was all they could afford.

"What's wrong?" Duncan asked frantically. "Where's David?"

"He's fine," his mother replied calmly. "He's in bed."

"What's the matter then?" Duncan questioned.

"I got fired," Daniel said quietly.

"No! What for?"

"I… got drunk on the job," Daniel said reluctantly. Duncan stared at Daniel in disbelief.

"Are you kidding me? You fucking idiot! You need that job. What are you going to do now? Who will hire you knowing you got fired?" Duncan yelled angrily. Daniel flinched but glared at his brother.

"Why don't you try getting a job?" Daniel spat back.

"I'm doing everything I can for this family!" Duncan retorted.

"Yeah, _stealing_ from honest hardworking people!" Daniel scoffed.

"None of them are hardworking and hardly any of them are honest," Duncan snorted.

"Boys, stop it, you'll wake your brother. Daniel, get off your high horse and tell Duncan the rest," their mother interrupted.

"There's more?" Duncan said incredulously. Daniel was silent for a moment.

"I got fired two weeks ago," he finally admitted. Duncan shook his head in confusion.

"Then where have you been getting the money from?" he asked.

"Gambling. I was betting on cock fights. I was doing really well, but today I lost a lot. More than I had. More than we have," Daniel confessed.

"Daniel. Exactly how much do you owe?" Duncan asked, waiting with baited breath for the answer, hoping the four gold pieces would cover it. Sure, it wasn't a lot to the girl he'd taken it from, but surely the men Daniel was betting against were of the same ilk as Duncan's family. They wouldn't bet more than a few gold coins.

"Seven hundred and fifty gold pieces," Daniel said quietly. Duncan was at a loss. He couldn't even get mad at his brother, because there was no way they could find that kind of money, and that meant it was probably Daniel's last day on earth.

"What were you thinking?" Duncan finally gets out.

"I was thinking that I was certain I was going to win. The guy was flashing around his purse. Imagine what we could have done with that kind of money!" Daniel tried to defend himself, but Duncan wasn't having any of it.

"And now we're all doomed, because you took a stupid risk and it didn't pay off," Duncan said, disappointed.

"You can't talk, you take risks everyday, robbing people!" Daniel accused.

"I know what I'm doing! It's hardly even risky anymore, I've got it down to an art," Duncan defended, wondering why he had to defend himself, when his brother was the one who got them into this mess. Daniel sighed.

"I know. That's why I need your help. You've got to get me out of this mess," Daniel pleaded. Duncan gave his brother a look of contempt.

"How the hell am I supposed to steal seven hundred and fifty gold pieces? I can't even steal that much in a year!" Duncan pointed out.

"You're not going to steal gold," Daniel informed him.

"Then what?" Duncan asked, bewildered.

"You're going to steal a person," Daniel said smugly.

"And what, substitute them for you, so they're the one who gets killed, not you?" Duncan said sarcastically.

"Are you really that thick? You're going to ransom them," Daniel explained. Duncan stared at him, wondering if he'd also gambled his brain away.

"Okay, a few things wrong with this plan. One, I don't know anyone rich enough to pay a seven hundred fifty gold piece ransom, two, where do I keep the captive while I'm waiting for the ransom, and three, this is a terrible idea and I'm not doing it." Duncan declared.

"Yes you are," Daniel disagreed. "You're going to keep the captive in DragonflameTower."

"The abandoned watch tower inhabited by an enormous green dragon?" Duncan questioned, already knowing the answer.

"Yes. And the person you'll be ransoming is the princess," Daniel said gleefully.

"No. Absolutely not. If I get caught they'll do a lot worse than throw me in prison," Duncan objected.

"But you said yourself, you've got it down to an art. You won't get caught," Daniel reminded him.

"That was stealing purses. People are completely different!" Duncan protested.

"They can't be that different," Daniel shrugged. Duncan was about to continue arguing with his brother, because while he wasn't always the most honest of men, kidnapping a princess didn't exactly sound like the kind of thing he was ready for. Plus there was the fact that getting caught would lead to certain death.

"Duncan, you will do this," his mother interrupted. Duncan couldn't believe his own ears. "It's the only way to help your brother and keep this family from starving to death." She said. Duncan looked up to see David standing in the bedroom door, looking scared, wondering what all the yelling was about. Duncan sighed and he knew he'd do whatever it took to look after his little brother.

* * *

**Note - Welcome to my new story! I honestly have no idea how often I'll be able to update this, normally I update fairly frequently but I have a lot of uni stuff over the next few weeks and then I go on placement for 3 weeks, but hopefully I will be able to keep it up. Hope you enjoyed the first chapter, please review! xx**


	2. The Worst Kidnapper of All Time

**Chapter Two – The Worst Kidnapper of All Time**

Since Daniel had gotten them into this mess, he agreed to help with the kidnapping. The plan was simple. Duncan remembered overhearing that the princess was travelling to Evershire that night and though it was dark out, he was hopeful that she had not yet reached her destination. After all, it was common knowledge that the princess never arrived anywhere on time on account of having a rather large guard and two carriages full of her belongings, so it was rather slow going. Duncan was slightly worried about the amount of guards she had watching over her but Daniel assured him the plan would work and the guards wouldn't even know he had taken her until it was much too late.

Duncan and Daniel "borrowed" a couple of horses from Daniel's old place of work, and rode as fast as they could down the road towards Evershire. The both wore hooded cloaks to hide their faces so they wouldn't be recognised if someone happened to catch a glimpse of them through the darkness. They rode for an hour before they heard the sounds of the princess's convoy up ahead. The boys quickly steered their horses under the cover of the trees. The road was very narrow and since it was dark, they could ride very close to the carriages without leaving the treeline. The boys tried to peer into the carriages to see which one the princess was in.

"It's got to be that middle one," Duncan guessed. "It's the most fancy and it's got extra footmen," he reasoned. Daniel nodded in agreement. Now came the part where he was needed. He carefully guided his horse through the trees and up to the front of the travelling party, while Duncan stayed beside the princess's carriage. It was Daniel's job to stop the procession from moving, just long enough for Duncan to grab the princess and get out of there. Daniel took a deep breath and rode his horse out onto the road, startling the guards at the front and causing them to stop, the others behind them crashing into them. Daniel did a dramatic dive from his horse and lay on the ground pretending to be injured.

"Stop!" one of the guards called. The carriages came to a halt and Duncan wasted no time. The guards that were meant to be protecting the princess's carriage were distracted by the commotion Daniel was causing and Duncan was able to slip into the carriage undetected. Princess Courtney was alone in the carriage, as Duncan had hoped. Obviously her ladies in waiting were in one of the other two. Before she'd even had a chance to register that he was there, Duncan had one arm around her waist and the other holding a knife at her throat.

"If you scream, I'll kill you," he whispered.

"If I scream, the guards will come running and they'll kill you," the princess whispered back. Duncan had not expected that. He'd thought she'd be so scared she wouldn't even question him. He quickly recovered from his shock though, and was able to convince her to stay quiet.

"If you scream, by the time the guards get here you'll already be dead," Duncan pointed out. She seemed to see some reason in this as she stayed silent. Duncan nodded to himself, pleased that everything was going according to plan so far. He glanced out the window of the carriage to see the guards still trying to figure out what was going on up ahead and wondering why they'd stopped. Duncan opened the door to the carriage and in two steps he had the princess in the trees, completely concealed from the guards by the underbrush. He let go of the princess but kept the knife at her back, lest she try to escape.

"Get on the horse," he ordered. She hesitated and looked at him with pain in her eyes. "Didn't you hear me?" he growled, "I said get on the horse!"

"I heard you! But this dress is really nice! I can't ride a horse in it!" she protested. Duncan couldn't believe his ears. He had a knife at her back and she was worried about some stupid dress?

"You can take it off if you want," he suggested lewdly. Courtney pursed her lips and glared at him before clambering onto the horse, rather ungraciously for someone who was supposedly royalty. Duncan mounted the horse behind her as he heard the guards calling to each other.

"He just rode off!" one yelled.

"Strange… did you see his face? Who was he?" another shouted back.

"I don't know, I didn't recognise him!"

"We better check the princess before we go," someone else called. Duncan took that as his cue to leave and he grabbed the reins and galloped off through the trees, silently hoping the guards wouldn't come this way.

* * *

"Where are we going?" Courtney asked after they'd been riding for ten minutes.

"Never you mind, darling," Duncan replied.

"You will refer to me as 'Your Grace', thank you," Courtney said snootily.

"I'll refer to you as whatever I want, since you're my prisoner," Duncan snorted. Courtney rolled her eyes.

"And what should I call you?" she asked primly.

"Call me whatever you want, I don't give a fuck," Duncan shrugged. Courtney huffed.

"Do you even know where you're going?" she asked. Duncan rolled his eyes, thinking he really should have gagged her as she has to be the most annoying prisoner ever.

"Of course I know where we're going," Duncan assured her. Although the further they got into the woods, the less sure he was of where they were. At least there was no sign of the guards following them as of yet.

"What do you plan to do with me anyway? Ransom me?" Courtney prodded. Duncan sighed.

"If you don't shut up I will gag you and tie you up and sling you across the back of this horse, got it?" he snapped. He was really not in the mood for this spoilt brat's incessant chatter. He had thought the hardest part of this whole plan was going to be actually taking her, but putting up with her was proving to be even worse. Although, he didn't really mind the feel of his arms around her as he held on to the reins in front of her, or the way her back leant up against his chest. She smelt rather nice as well. If only she would shut up he might have actually enjoyed himself. He would have no such luck though, as Courtney seemed to have figured out all his threats were idle ones, and he would neither kill her nor risk harming her if he wanted to see a penny from her parents.

After riding for two hours with Courtney pestering him about where they were going and what his intentions were, Duncan finally had to admit to himself that he had no idea where they were or what direction they were headed in. He slowed the horse to a stop and slid off.

"Where are we?" Courtney asked.

"I don't know," Duncan admitted.

"Why are you getting off the horse?" Courtney wondered.

"We're going to stay here until morning when I'll be able to get my bearings," Duncan explained.

"Here?" Courtney screwed up her nose as she looked around, seeing nothing but trees.

"Yes, here!" Duncan informed her. "Now get off the horse." Courtney sighed as she slid of the horse and onto the ground. "And don't even think about running away." Duncan warned her. To make sure she wouldn't, Duncan pulled out a length of rope from his pack which had also been stolen from Daniel's work, and tied her tightly to a tree.

"This is so uncomfortable!" she whined. "Can't I at least lie down?"

"You can try," Duncan shrugged. Courtney groaned in annoyance as Duncan stood up and went to tie the horse up so it wouldn't wander off in the night.

"You are so irritating! You have got to be the worst kidnapper of all time," Courtney complained.

"I was thinking something along the same lines about you," Duncan smirked. He wasn't really sure why he was smirking, it wasn't particularly funny, but it seemed to annoy the princess even more so he went with it.

"My father is so going to have you beheaded when he hears about this," Courtney threatened.

"Honey, if I have to put up with another minute of you whining I'll be happy to be beheaded," Duncan snorted. He walked back over to her after tying up the horse and crouched down. He ripped a sleeve off her delicate purple gown, tying it around her mouth as a gag. "Besides, it's not my job to make sure you're comfortable, just to make sure you're alive." Courtney tried to respond but the gag muffled her words so she just glowered at Duncan. He chuckled, suddenly liking his prisoner a whole lot more now that she couldn't complain.

* * *

**Note - Yay, chapter two! I got this done way quicker than expected. Hope you enjoyed it! Thanks for the reviews on chapter one!**


	3. Sleepless Nights

**Chapter Three – Sleepless Nights**

Duncan woke in the middle of the night, unsure why as he normally slept right through till morning. It could have been that the ground was just uncomfortable, but then again it wasn't much harder than the pallet he slept on at home. He glanced around, wondering if maybe there was someone out in the woods. The horse was still there, she seemed to be asleep. Duncan looked over at Courtney who was still tied up to the tree. Her eyes were closed but she was shivering uncontrollably. Come to think of it, it was pretty cold out. Duncan barely felt the cold anymore, he was so used to sleeping with only a ratty old blanket that didn't hold much warmth, but he supposed the princess was used to feather pillows and quilts, with a fire blazing in her room.

Duncan sighed, knowing he couldn't let her freeze or catch pneumonia or something so he walked over to her and shook her awake. It wasn't hard as she wasn't in a very deep sleep, she looked up at him, startled, but unable to say anything due to the gag. Duncan untied the gag and the ropes from around the tree.

"Are we leaving?" Courtney asked once she was free of the gag.

"No, it's still dark." Duncan replied.

"Then why are you untying me?" she questioned, still shivering.

"You're freezing," Duncan said simply.

"Clearly. I thought you didn't care if I was comfortable or not. And besides, I fail to see how not being tied to a tree will make me warmer. Unless I start running…"

"You're not going anywhere… just… I'm going to keep you warm, okay?" Duncan explained. Courtney raised an eyebrow at him suspiciously.

"Are you sure that's your only motive?" she asked. Duncan laughed.

"Relax, Princess, if I wanted to rape you I would have done it by now. Plus, no rapist would use the guise of wanting to keep a girl warm, he'd just do it," he said bluntly. "And you're worth less money if you're spoiled," he tacked on. Courtney screwed up her nose.

"Well… alright then," she agreed. Duncan could tell she wasn't happy with the situation but she didn't want to freeze to death so lay down beside him with her back to his chest and let him put his arms around her. It didn't take long for her to stop shivering and before long Duncan could hear her breath become slow and even as she drifted off to sleep. Duncan felt oddly at ease with the girl in his arms and he too was soon asleep.

* * *

Courtney's eyes fluttered open and she wondered why her pillow was so hard, and also why one of her sleeves was missing. And why was she wearing this gown to bed? And why was there a man in her bed? It was then that everything from the night before came flooding back to her.

Kidnapped. That was just great. She knew by now that she wasn't going to be harmed in any way, since this villain wanted money and he'd never get it if she was dead. But that didn't make this experience any more enjoyable. She definitely wasn't used to sleeping on the ground or riding a horse in a silk gown or being spoken to like she wasn't royalty. She realised her captor wasn't awake yet. She could easily sneak off now and try to find her way to Evershire. Except she had no idea where they were or even what direction they'd come from. Still, she thought she could probably get a fair way before he woke up, and hopefully there would be people out looking for her who would find her before this scoundrel did.

Making her decision, Courtney gently moved his arm and rolled away from him. He hadn't stirred and Courtney figured that was the hardest part, so surely now she was home free. She stood up and brushed herself off before walking off in the direction it seemed they had come from, judging by the horse's hoof prints. She had barely gotten two steps, however, when she heard a voice call out to her.

"Where do you think you're going?" he said casually. Courtney looked around to see him still lying on the ground and sitting up on his elbow. Knowing this might be her only chance of escape, Courtney picked up her skirts and ran for it. She heard Duncan laugh and wondered why he wasn't bothered that she was escaping. A second later she heard hooves behind her and she glanced back to see the kidnapper galloping towards her though the trees. He rode up beside her and grabbed her, dragging her onto the horse. Courtney made some noise of protest at being manhandled in such a way but Duncan just laughed at her.

"You forgot that I have a horse and you don't. I can easily catch you, Princess," he chuckled, putting his hands back on the reins and turning the horse around, slowing to a walk. _Why didn't I think to take the horse?!_ Courtney cursed herself.

"You are such an ogre!" Courtney spat as she tried to right herself on the horse, Duncan having not bothered to seat her upright.

"You wouldn't be saying that if you'd ever seen a real ogre. Those things are truly nasty, let me tell you that. You wouldn't want to be kidnapped by one of those!" Duncan told her.

"I don't want to be kidnapped at all!" Courtney pointed out.

"I'm just saying you could have a worse kidnapper," Duncan shrugged.

"I seriously doubt that."

"Do you want me to gag you again or are you going to be quiet?" Duncan warned. Courtney pursed her lips in annoyance but she shut up.

* * *

By the light of day Duncan recognised where he was and was able to set them back on the right track. He obviously couldn't take them to DragonflameTower by the normal roads because by now there would most certainly be people out searching for the princess. If all went according to plan though, he would reach the tower by that afternoon and Daniel would have sent the ransom demands to the king. Daniel had wanted to ask for much more than 750 gold coins but Duncan told him they didn't need it. This whole escapade was to get Daniel out of trouble and that was it. Duncan did wonder how much they could have got out of the king in exchange for his daughter though.

"How much do you think your father would pay for you?" Duncan asked Courtney.

"So you are going to ransom me!" Courtney said triumphantly.

"I thought that was fairly obvious by now," Duncan stated.

"Yes, well, I just needed to make sure. And I'm sure my father would pay anything you asked for. How much are you going to ask him for?" Courtney asked.

"We'll see," was all Duncan said.

"Do you even know what you're doing? The way you've been going about this it's like you've never kidnapped anyone before!" Courtney said exasperatedly.

"I haven't kidnapped anyone before," Duncan informed her.

"Great, just great," Courtney groaned.

"What does it matter how many people I've kidnapped before?" Duncan wondered.

"It matters because you clearly don't know how to treat a hostage and you have no idea what you're doing so I'll probably just end up rotting in a cave somewhere," Courtney complained. Duncan rolled his eyes.

"Don't be so dramatic," he said.

"Oh I'm being dramatic am I? Well excuse me if I fail to see the bright side in being taken from my carriage by some disgusting ruffian, forced to ride a horse and ruin my dress, tied up to a tree and made to sleep on the hard ground in a forest where it's freezing cold and then finding out that the person who I have to entrust my life with hasn't got a clue what he's doing!" Courtney ranted.

"I know what I'm doing! Could you just try being a little co-operative? I don't want to hurt you, I just want to get some money so I can pay my stupid brother's debt. So if you just shut up and let me do my thing, you can be back home and in your precious four poster feather bed by tomorrow night, okay?" Duncan fired back. Courtney, unable to think of a comeback, just grumbled to herself.

* * *

**Note - Okay kind of a short chapter, but I think it's better if I update more often with shorter chapters rather than not very often with long chapters? I don't know. Hope you enjoyed, please review! xx**


	4. The One with the Knife

******Hey guys here's chapter four! Thanks for the couple of reviews I got, please keep it up! I really like to know what y'all think of it. Hope you enjoy this chapter! xx**

* * *

**Chapter Four – The One with the Knife**

Duncan carved a picture of a skull into a tree with his knife while he waited for Courtney to finish her business in the woods. He didn't really trust her not to run away but he had to grant her basic human needs. He kept an ear out though and surprisingly she eventually came back.

"That was so disgusting," Courtney complained, screwing up her nose.

"I don't need to hear about it, thanks darling," Duncan said, tucking his knife into his belt.

"You still haven't told me your name," Courtney reminded Duncan casually as they both got back on the horse.

"And I'm not going to," Duncan assured her. Courtney huffed.

"So who does your brother owe money to?" she asked.

"No one," Duncan replied shortly.

"You said before that you needed money to pay your brother's debt," Courtney pointed out.

"Well, it's none of your business, sweetheart," Duncan said patronisingly. Courtney ignored the tone of his voice and the use of the word sweetheart and continued to pester him.

"You have to tell me something about yourself," she demanded.

"I don't have to do anything you tell me to do, I'm in charge here," Duncan reminded her.

"I bet it's a gambling debt," Courtney persisted. Duncan's silence told her she was right. "What an idiot. How much does he owe? It must be a lot if you have to kidnap a princess. Speaking of which, if your brother is the one with the debt why are you the one who has to do the kidnapping? Did he bribe you? Is he an older brother? How old are you anyway? Where are you from? Do you have any other brothers and sisters? What do you do when you're not kidnapping princesses?"

"My name's Duncan, okay?" Duncan interrupted, getting irritated by her stream of questions. Courtney smirked, falling silent having gotten what she wanted. Duncan shook his head, realising she'd managed to manipulate him into giving his name. It wasn't much, but it could be enough to track him down after this whole thing was over, and there was no way he would live if he was caught. He subconsciously tightened his grip on the reins and urged the horse to go faster.

* * *

"I'm hungry, are we going to eat soon?" Courtney asked. Duncan himself was also starting to feel a little peckish as neither of them had eaten since the night before and it was now late afternoon. He hadn't packed any food because for one thing he didn't have any food to pack, and for another he had expected to be at Dragonflame tower by now. He was confident they were going in the right direction, so he thought it must just be further away than he originally thought. Courtney was right though, they needed to eat. He couldn't starve the princess to death. Where was he going to find food in this forest though? He didn't have any weapons, save for his knife, to hunt animals with and he had no clue about what plants were edible and which were not. That meant finding an inn or a tavern or a town of some kind. The only money he had was one gold coin that he had stolen from the princess's lady in waiting.

Duncan didn't answer Courtney's question, as he couldn't decide what the best course of action would be. Could he risk running into people who might recognise the princess? He still had the hooded cloak he'd worn to kidnap her, he supposed he could make her wear it. But there was no guarantee she wouldn't just throw it off and announce who she was and get him captured and killed. In fact that's probably exactly what she'd do. Duncan sighed, knowing he'd probably have to steal something from some poor unsuspecting farmer. While he never felt guilty about stealing from lords and ladies or even rich merchants, he didn't like to stoop to stealing from people who most likely didn't have much more money than he did.

"Is that a house over there?" Courtney pointed through the trees. "Maybe they can give us food." Duncan squinted in the direction she was pointing to and sure enough it looked like there was some kind of structure erected maybe three hundred metres away. It didn't really look like a house and it certainly didn't look inhabited but Duncan figured there wasn't much harm in checking it out. Duncan brought the horse to a stop and dismounted then waited for Courtney to follow him, keeping his hands on the reins, lest she decide to try and ride off. He looked up at her expectantly as she stayed on the horse.

"Will you help me down?" she simpered. Duncan looked at her suspiciously but she just batted her eyelashes at him. He put her hands on her waist and she rested her own hands on his shoulders as he helped her slide of the horse. She brushed her hands down his chest and let them linger on his waist as she dismounted, stumbling slightly so she crashed into him a little. Duncan felt his breath catch in his throat at the contact and some strange feeling in his chest. Courtney looked up at him apologetically as she stepped away only slightly, dropping her hands from his waist and putting them behind her back.

"I'm sorry, I'm so clumsy!" she apologised. Duncan cleared his throat before responding.

"Uh, it's fine," he shook his head. "Let's go." He turned to walk towards the shack, leading the horse behind him.

"I don't think so," Courtney replied.

"Excuse me?" Duncan turned to her, raising an eyebrow.

"I'm not going anywhere with you," Courtney declared.

"Look, Princess, I told you I'm in charge here. I'm the one with the knife, so you'll do as I say if you want to live," Duncan threatened, though they both knew it was an empty threat.

"Oh are you?" Courtney smirked.

"Am I what?" Duncan demanded.

"The one with the knife," Courtney shrugged innocently. Duncan glanced down at his belt to see his knife missing.

"Fuck." He looked back up at Courtney to see her wielding the knife. She obviously took it from him when she was acting all helpless. She narrowed her eyes and took a step towards him.

"I'm leaving now, and if you try to follow me I will not hesitate to stab you," she warned, and unlike Duncan's, hers did not sound like and idle threat. Duncan gulped and put his hands up, taking a step back, showing her she was free to go. He watched her turn and run off into the woods.

"Damn, that princess is dangerous," he said to the horse with a shake of his head. He truly had underestimated her and now he had no princess, no knife and no money and both and he and Daniel were probably dead meat, meaning his mother and David probably would be too. Duncan sighed and patted the horse. "At least I still have you." Maybe he could sell the horse, that would be a start… yeah right, and where would he get the other 740 coins from?

Duncan had just gotten back on the horse when he heard a shrill scream ring through the forest. He was certain it was the princess, but he had no idea why she would be screaming so loudly. Had she come across a wild animal or a band of thieves? He knew there were people out there way more dangerous to her than he was. _I shouldn't have let her get away, _he cursed himself. He dug his heels into the sides of the horse, urging it towards the screams he'd heard. She was silent now but Duncan thought he knew what direction to go. He spotted something purple up ahead and on closer inspection found that it was Courtney's dress. This did not look good. He looked around, trying to figure out which way whoever took her would have gone. He spotted his knife lying in the dirt and put it in his belt. There seemed to be some form of trail that looked like it went in the direction of the shack they'd seen. So perhaps someone did live there after all.

With a sick feeling in his stomach, Duncan galloped down the trail, knowing that if anything bad happened to the princess it would be his fault. Eventually he came to a swamp, and on the other side of the swamp was the shack, which now had smoke coming from the chimney. Duncan dismounted and led the horse around the swamp, approaching the house with caution. He didn't know how many people were in there or what weapons they might have. Duncan snuck up to the window and peered inside. He could see Courtney bound up with a gag in her mouth in a corner, wearing only a white corset and petticoat. She glanced up and saw him and her eyes widened in surprise. He could see the desperation in her eyes but she tried to mask her expression as her captor walked over to her and came into Duncan's view.

The stranger was unusually large and extremely fat, and his skin was green and brown, and he was covered in warts. _An ogre_, Duncan thought, incredulous. What were the chances? The ogre approached Courtney and Duncan felt his stomach churn at the thought of the ugly beast touching her, so without thinking he burst through the door of the cabin.

"Excuse me, ogre!" The ogre turned to face him and Duncan noticed that he wasn't wearing any clothes and quickly averted his eyes from the ogre's private area which was even uglier than his face, if such a thing was possible. The ogre's face was sunken and his nose was bulging. Saliva dripped from his mouth and his few uneven teeth jutted out, making him look both simple and menacing at the same time.

The ogre looked Duncan up and down before advancing on him. He licked his lips and sniffed.

"What do you want?" he bellowed. Duncan did his best not to flinch but the stench of the ogre's breath was near unbearable.

"That princess belongs to me," Duncan informed the slimy creature.


	5. Bones

**Note - Hey guys, another chapter! I keep writing this instead of my uni assignments. It's really bad but I can't help myself! I actually think this story is some of the best writing I've done even though it's not as popular as some of my others lol.**

**Hola: I'm so happy you think my descriptions are good because I always think that is my main weakness with writing! It's funny that you look at the story so logically, I do that too but then I think "it's a story, it doesn't matter" haha! Courtney was kind of foolish for not taking the horse but if she had there'd be no story lol. **

**Anyway here's the chapter, hope you enjoy. Please continue to review, it means a lot to me to hear your feedback! xx**

**If you remember Courtney had been captured by the ogre and Duncan had burst in claiming she belongs to him...**

**Chapter Five – Bones**

Courtney tried to say that she belonged to no one, and that Duncan could get lost, but the gag in her mouth made it rather difficult. Plus, it did kind of look like Duncan was trying to help her, and though she was loath to admit it she did need a little help right about now. The ogre had startled her in the woods and she'd screamed at the sight of him. She'd tried to run and he'd grabbed at her dress, ripping it clean off before capturing her and throwing her over his shoulder and bringing her to his lair. Courtney had gagged at the stench of him and she was sure there was ogre slime all over her under things. Now she was tied up and she wasn't really sure what he intended to do with her, but she knew it wasn't going to be pleasant.

"She's mine now," the ogre informed Duncan in his rasping voice. "Now get lost before I kill you too," he threatened.

"I can't do that. I have to take her with me," Duncan refuted.

"Do you have a death wish? Can you not see that I'm a deadly ogre?" the ogre yelled.

"I can see that, but I need her," Duncan pressed. Courtney wondered why the ogre hadn't just killed him already, or at least tied him up like he did with her.

"Oh, you _need _her. I get it," the ogre elbowed Duncan suggestively. Courtney couldn't believe it. Were these two actually _bonding_? "How about I let you have some fun with her and then once you're done you give her back and let me eat her?" the ogre suggested.

"You're going to eat her?" Duncan questioned. The ogre nodded and looked over at Courtney, licking his lips.

"What did you think I was going to do with her? You didn't think I'd waste my time fucking a human girl did you?" the ogre chuckled. "Although she is a feisty one, I'll give her that." Duncan chuckled nervously and glanced back at Courtney. She gave him her best death stare since she couldn't scold him. Duncan shrugged apologetically.

"Look, ah… what's you name?" Duncan started.

"John," the ogre replied.

"John, as much as I'd love to agree to that arrangement, I need this princess uneaten, alive and preferably still a maiden as I am trying to ransom her, and I won't get any money if all that's left are bones," Duncan explained.

"Oh, I eat the bones," John said matter-of-factly. Courtney groaned inwardly at the conversation, wondering if Duncan was just going to stay and chat with the ogre named John all day or whether he was actually going to get them out of there.

"That's… nice. Doesn't change the fact that I need her to pay my brother's stupid gambling debt," Duncan told the ogre.

"How much is the debt?" John asked.

"Seven hundred and fifty gold pieces," Duncan sighed. John laughed heartily. Courtney couldn't believe her ears. No wonder he needed to ransom a princess.

"Your brother's an idiot and so are you," John said to Duncan.

"John." Duncan tried again. "I don't know if ogres feel compassion or empathy or anything, but I need this money or my older brother is going to most likely be murdered. He may be an idiot, but he's my brother and I don't want him to die. And the guy will probably still expect his money. On top of that, I'll probably be beheaded or hanged for kidnapping a princess, leaving my elderly mother and my twelve year old brother to fend for themselves, with a seven hundred and fifty gold debt hanging over their heads and I can't let that happen, because I love my brother more than anything. So for god's sake, give me the princess or I will have to kill you," Duncan pulled his knife out and brandished it at the ogre. John just laughed a deep laugh that came from his enormous belly.

"You think that knife is going to do any damage to me?" he mocked. Duncan grinned nervously, hoping the ogre would just let him have Courtney. "What will you give me in return?" the ogre asked.

"In return?" Duncan questioned.

"I want payment for the princess. Neither of you are leaving here unless you give me something worth my while," John reasoned.

"All I have is this knife and… my horse," Duncan confessed. "And a cloak, a flint and a rope in the pack tied to the saddle."

"I'll take it all," the ogre decided. Duncan really didn't want to hand over the horse, since he suspected John was only going to eat it and that was such a waste of a beautiful horse, but he needed Courtney more than he needed a horse that he'd stolen anyway.

"Fine," Duncan sighed. He glanced at Courtney then at John, seeking permission to untie her. John nodded and Duncan hurried over, removing her gag then getting to work on the ropes binding her hands.

"Can we at least keep the cloak?" Courtney pleaded.

"What for?" John wondered.

"You ripped my dress, I need something to wear," Courtney pointed out. The ogre only leered at her before shaking his head. Courtney moaned sulkily at her bad luck and the ogre laughed at her. Duncan finally got her hands untied and they both worked on the ropes around her ankles. Duncan then took her hand and helped her to her feet before looking to the ogre.

"Are we free to go?" Duncan asked, his fingers still entwined with Courtney's. John grinned lewdly and nodded. Duncan hurried from the shack, dragging Courtney with him. He stopped once they were outside to look at the horse longingly. Courtney cleared her throat and Duncan looked back to her before realising he was still holding her hand.

"Sorry," he said, letting her go, but noticing she hadn't actually made an effort to remove her hand from his. "I guess I can't stop you from leaving now," Duncan said, his mouth forming into a thin line.

"No, you can't. But I'm going to stay," Courtney told him.

"Why?" asked Duncan, taken aback.

"Because despite the fact that I think you're disgusting and a complete idiot, you did just save my life and I really don't want your mother and little brother to starve because of me," Courtney explained. "I don't know why you didn't just tell me all that in the first place," she scolded.

"I didn't want you to feel sorry for me," Duncan shrugged. Courtney rolled her eyes.

"Now can we please get out of here before that ogre changes his mind?" Courtney demanded. Duncan nodded and they headed off. "And while we're at it could we find some clothes I can wear? This is quite embarrassing," Courtney said, looking down at her underwear.

"I kinda like you like that," Duncan chuckled. Courtney gave him a shove.

"Shut up. It isn't funny!" Courtney scowled.

"It's pretty funny," Duncan smirked.

"How would you like it if a big naked ugly green monster tore off your dress then carried you through the forest, tied you up and waved his enormous… _thing_ in your face?" Courtney shuddered.

"It was pretty big," Duncan agreed. "And ugly too," he added.

"I thought he was going to… you know…" Courtney whispered, tears forming in her eyes. She quickly wiped them away but not before Duncan noticed.

"Hey," he stopped walking and put his hands on her shoulders. "You're okay now. I would never let that happen to you. I'm sorry I laughed." He felt like a huge jerk now as a tear rolled down her freckled cheek. Courtney just nodded and brushed the tear away. But it was no use; the full weight of her situation hit her. Her bones ached, she'd hardly had any sleep, she'd been kidnapped _twice_, she'd eaten nothing in twenty hours, she had thought she was going to be raped by an ogre and now she had to walk through the forest in her underwear, and all this in under twenty four hours. Courtney began to sob uncontrollably, tears streaming from her eyes now. Duncan wrapped his arms around her and let her cry into his chest, and she did so gratefully, though she felt somewhat ashamed of herself. She eventually calmed down and pulled away from Duncan. She wiped her eyes and held her head up high.

"Let's go," she ordered and began walking in the direction they'd been heading. Duncan nodded, eyeing her cautiously, trying to work out if she was alright, before going after her.


	6. Derek and Cornelia

**Hi friends! Thanks for your reviews as usual! To celebrate finishing one of my essays I am posting a new chapter :)**

**Chapter Six – Derek and Cornelia**

Duncan and Courtney stood at the edge of the forest, having finally made it through. From here Duncan thought DragonflameTower was probably at least five hours away on foot. He'd obviously taken them a long way because they really should have been there by now. They were both starving and it was now dark out, and they could see the flickering of candles through the windows of a farm house and the smoke rising from the chimney.

"If you don't take me there I'm going to go there anyway and tell them who I am and you'll never get your money. I'm cold, I'm hungry, I'm tired and I'm half naked and I refuse to walk any further till I've rested and had something to eat," Courtney declared. Duncan sighed, knowing she was right. Minus being half naked he felt the same way.

"Fine. We need to think up a story though. Who we are and why we're out here. And why you're in your underwear," Duncan said, looking her up and down.

"Stop it," she hit him in the arm. Duncan averted his gaze and looked back at her face.

"Okay. We're Cornelia and Derek Albright and we were out picnicking when we were attacked by an ogre. How does that sound?" Duncan suggested.

"Fine." Courtney shrugged. "Does this mean we're pretending to be married?" she clarified.

"Yes. There's no way they'd believe you were my sister and anything else would be improper," Duncan reasoned. Courtney nodded and they made their way across the open field and towards the house. They reached the door and Duncan took a deep breath, praying to god the residents wouldn't know the princess. Looking at her now he doubted they would recognise her even if they had seen her before. She was dirty and ragged, her hair, which was pinned up perfectly when he'd first abducted her, was coming out all over the place and she wasn't exactly dressed like royalty. Courtney looked at him expectantly.

"Are you going to knock or do I have to do it?" she demanded. Duncan chuckled and knocked firmly on the door. They waited with baited breath for somebody to open it. A boy with red hair and freckles who looked about their own age appeared at the door with a questioning look on his face.

"Please help us," Duncan began, doing his best to look distressed. "My wife and I were out having a picnic when we were attacked by on ogre. He took our horses and everything else we had with us, including my wife's dress. We've been walking through the forest for hours!" Duncan said dramatically. The boy looked disturbed by the news and glanced at Courtney, blushing when he saw what she was wearing.

"Ma!" he called out. "There's a couple here who say they got attacked by that ogre!" A woman came hurrying to the door and gasped when she saw the pair.

"Oh my dears, come inside quickly!" she ushered them inside. The room was sparsely furnished but she gestured for them to sit at the table which had an alarming number of chairs around it. There was a fire blazing in the fire place, warming the room and giving everything a soft glow. "That ogre has been terrorising people in those woods for years now! It's very worrying! What did you say your names were?"

"Derek and Cornelia Albright," Duncan answered.

"Lord Derek and Lady Cornelia," Courtney corrected. Duncan rolled his eyes. The woman immediately bobbed into a curtsey.

"Oh I'm sorry, m'lord, m'lady," she said apologetically. "Come with me, m'lady, let me find you a dress," she led Courtney out of the room and down to a bedroom. Meanwhile Duncan sat awkwardly at the table, across from the red headed boy. They sat in silence until five children hurried eagerly into the room, followed by an older man. They all sat around Duncan at the table. The man bowed his head to Duncan, making Duncan feel quite uncomfortable.

"M'lord," the man said, before sitting down.

"That's really not necessary, just call me Du… Derek," Duncan said.

"As you wish, Derek. I'm Curtis Sullivan. My wife, who you've met, is named Wilma. These are six of our eight children, Scott, Lizzie, Anna, William, Phillip and Gracie. We have one younger who is asleep, his name is Colin. Our eldest daughter, Phoebe, is married and no longer lives with us," Curtis smiled. Duncan looked around at the curious faces, trying to take in each of their names as Curtis pointed them off.

"Thank you for taking us in," Duncan said lamely.

"It's no trouble. I believe Wilma has given your wife some water and a cloth to wash herself, would you like to do the same?" Curtis asked.

"That would be nice, thank you," Duncan accepted.

"Scott, you can take Duncan to the boys' room. Your mother has boiled some water," Curtis instructed. Scott nodded and stood up and Duncan did the same. Scott led Duncan to a room with four beds, one was occupied by a sleeping child.

"Ma always feeds him early and puts him to bed," Scott explained.

"So you haven't eaten yet?" Duncan asked eagerly. Scott shook his head and left the room to retrieve a bowl of warm water and a cloth. Duncan looked about the room. It seemed this family was fairly well off for farmers. They clearly had a three bedroom house and their seven children all looked well fed and clean. They were no high born family but they were clearly well above Duncan's own family. He felt bad for lying to them as they seemed like nice people, but there was really nothing else to be done. Scott returned with the cloth and water then left Duncan to wash in privacy. Duncan did so gratefully before returning to the table where the rest of the family were still sitting.

* * *

After Courtney was clean again, Wilma returned to help her dress.

"This is one of Phoebe's old dresses," Wilma told her. "It isn't very fine, I'm sorry, but it's the best we've got," she apologised.

"It's lovely, thank you," Courtney smiled. Wilma tightened Courtney's corset for her and put the woollen dress over her head. It fit reasonably well and would do just fine for the one day she expected to have to wear it. Surely she would be home in her own bed by tomorrow night. After she was dressed Courtney allowed Wilma to brush her hair as it had become a horrible tangled mess while walking around the forest.

"You're very young to be out on your own," Wilma observed. "How old are you?"

"I'm old enough to be married," Courtney defended.

"Forgive me, m'lady, I didn't mean to give offence," Wilma said quickly, pinning a few strands of hair away from Courtney's face.

"No, I'm sorry. I suppose I am quite young, I'm sixteen," Courtney told her.

"The same age as my Scott," Wilma smiled. "Would you like something to eat? We're about to have dinner," Wilma offered. Courtney nodded and they headed back out to join the others.

The conversation around the table ceased as the two women entered the room. Duncan stood up quickly but immediately felt embarrassed by the action, unsure why he felt he needed to. Luckily everyone else at the table followed his lead so he didn't look completely stupid. Courtney raised an eyebrow at him as she walked over to sit beside him.

"What are you staring at? I'm wearing clothes now," Courtney whispered to Duncan.

"You… look nice," Duncan said lamely, before they both sat back down and everyone else did the same. Wilma and Curtis exchanged a glance and smiled at each other.

Wilma got the girls to help her in the kitchen. She refused help from Courtney though as she was a guest and a lady. They were served a warm stew which smelled amazing, especially since they hadn't eaten in twenty four hours. The Sullivan family bombarded them with questions while they ate.

"When did you get married?" asked Lizzie, who was the third eldest child.

"Uhh… a month ago," Duncan improvised.

"Oh that is so sweet. I can't wait to get married!" Lizzie gushed.

"I'm surprised your father didn't marry you to an older man, Lady Cornelia. That is usually the way things go," Curtis mused.

"My father doesn't control me," Courtney informed him.

"So it was a love match then, not an arranged marriage?" Curtis inquired.

"Really Curtis, I would have thought that was obvious, just look at them!" Wilma rolled her eyes. Courtney and Duncan looked at each other, startled. Apparently they were better at acting like they were in love than they thought. "Curtis and I married for love too, though our parents didn't approve! We couldn't keep our hands off each other, that's why we've got so many children!" Wilma laughed. Her children made sounds of disgust. "I'll bet you two are the same! Are you pregnant yet, m'lady?" Courtney blushed at the question, for of course it was impossible for her to be pregnant, though Wilma couldn't be allowed to know that.

"Not yet, ma'am," Courtney replied. Nobody except Duncan noticed her embarrassment though and he just chuckled, thoroughly enjoying himself. The house was warm, the food was good and the company was too. Wilma poured them another cup of ale and offered them some more food.

"Thank you, Mrs Sullivan, but we really should be on our way," Duncan told her.

"You can't mean to leave tonight?" Wilma asked, shocked.

"Well…" Duncan started.

"I won't hear it. You two will stay here tonight. You can have our bed and we'll sleep with the children," Wilma smiled.

"We can't ask you to do that," Duncan refused.

"Nonsense! I insist. Anything for the lord and lady. I'll find you a nightgown, m'lady," Wilma hurried off.

"Mr Sullivan, we can't thank you enough for your kindness, I promise we'll repay you once we're safely home," Courtney said.

"It's no trouble, m'lady. Come and I'll show you the bedroom," Curtis stood up and Courtney glanced at Duncan uncertainly before getting up to follow him. Duncan said goodnight to the children and went after them. Wilma met them in the bedroom with a nightgown of Phoebe's.

"Here you go m'lady," she handed Courtney the white cotton garment. "I'd offer to help you undress but I'm sure your husband will want to do it!" Wilma winked and she and her husband left the room, closing the door behind them. Courtney looked at the bed nervously and then down at the nightgown in her hands.

"Don't worry, Princess, I won't touch you. It'll be like in the woods, only we have a blanket so I won't have to keep you warm," Duncan reassured her.

"It's not like in the woods though. There are witnesses here," Courtney said. Duncan looked around the room.

"Where?" he snorted. Courtney rolled her eyes.

"In the woods there was no one to know I slept in your arms. Those people out there know we're sharing a bed and if they find out who I am and who you are, they might tell, and everyone will assume I'm not a maiden anymore," Courtney explained. Duncan nodded seriously.

"What other choice do we have? We can't tell them we don't want to share a bed or they'll get suspicious," he pointed out. "I don't think they're going to figure out who you are. They live miles from anywhere and they've never seen you before. We need to get some rest before we leave tomorrow," Duncan continued. Courtney nodded, knowing he was right. She would just have to hope these people never found out who she was.

"Okay," she conceded. "Just turn around while I get changed." Duncan did as he was bid and Courtney slipped her dress over her head. A second later she realised she could not loosen her corset herself. "Duncan?" she whispered.

"Yeah?" he replied.

"I kind of need your help," she said through gritted teeth, hating herself immensely. "Can you loosen my corset?"

"Uh, sure," Duncan turned around and walked over to her. He carefully loosened the laces while Courtney held the corset to her chest so it wouldn't fall down. She could feel his breath on her neck and she felt flushed as his fingers worked on her corset, every now and then brushing against her bare skin. Duncan finally got the corset undone and quickly turned around again so Courtney could finish changing. He took off his own boots and shirt but kept his pants on, since the Sullivans had given him nothing to sleep in. It was what he was used to anyway, it's not like he could afford special sleeping attire.

Courtney turned around and her face filled with colour when she saw that Duncan was half undressed. She did he best to mask her embarrassment as she cleared her throat to let him know it was okay to look now. Duncan spun around and felt his breath catch at the sight of her illuminated by the candlelight. He looked her up and down and smirked at her.

"What?" she demanded. Duncan shook his head.

"Nothing," he said quietly. He didn't have the heart to tell her the nightgown wasn't totally opaque.

"I guess we should go to bed then," Courtney suggested. Duncan nodded, and watched her climb into bed. His heart thumped unusually hard and for a moment he wished she really was his wife. He quickly shook off the feeling and clambered into bed next to Courtney. They blew out the candles and lay there in the dark.

"I don't know who my brother owes money to," Duncan whispered after a while.

"What?" Courtney asked, wondering why he was telling her this.

"You asked me earlier today. I don't know who he owes it to, but I'm doing this to help him. He's hopeless and he needs my help. He's older than me. I'm sixteen and he's eighteen. I live in a town called Fernfree with my two brothers and mother. I get money by stealing from nobles who pass through the town and doing odd jobs for my neighbours. I stole some money from one of your ladies at the market," Duncan was silent for a moment before responding.

"Which one?"

"The blonde one," Duncan told her.

"Bridgette, of course," Courtney giggled.

"So now you know all about me," Duncan said. Courtney was silent again.

"I'm betrothed," she said finally, wanting to reveal something about herself to return the favour.

"Really? To who?" Duncan questioned, trying not to sound jealous. He wasn't of course.

"Lord Justin Toadie," Courtney admitted.

"Sounds nice," Duncan snickered. Courtney tried to hit him in the arm but in the dark she couldn't see and she missed and hit him in the face.

"Argh!" Duncan cried, clutching his nose.

"Oh my god, I'm so sorry!" she rolled over and sat up, looking down on his face. She removed his hand from his face and squinted at him. "I don't think it's bleeding," she assured him.

"That's reassuring," he said sarcastically.

"Well you did kind of deserve it," Courtney pointed out.

"It still hurts though," Duncan complained.

"You're such a baby!" Courtney laughed. She leant down and gave him a peck on the bridge of his nose. "There, is that better?" she asked. Duncan stared at her in shock, before nodding slowly. He felt the urge to grab her face and press his lips against hers. Courtney suddenly realised what she'd done and covered her face with her hands, mortified.

"Oh, I'm sorry! I don't know why I did that," she whispered.

"It's alright," Duncan replied huskily.

"Please forget about it, okay?" she pleaded.

"Okay," Duncan whispered back. Courtney lay back down with her back to Duncan, feeling like a complete fool and still not knowing entirely what had possessed her to kiss him like that, except that it had just felt so domestic, them lying together in bed like that, she'd almost felt for a moment that she really was his wife. She prayed that Duncan thought nothing of it as she shut her eyes and tried to sleep.

Duncan, however, did not think nothing of it. He was having an internal war with himself wondering whether or not she meant to do it, and whether or not he could return the favour. He knew not why he wanted so badly to kiss her, except that she was a pretty girl who was lying inches away from him, and he'd never really spent so much time with a girl before. But she was a princess and he knew he had no right to want her, so he turned onto his side and went to sleep.


	7. Dragonflame Tower

**Happy Easter everyone!**

**Chapter Seven – Dragonflame Tower**

A knock on the door woke them in the morning followed by the voice of Wilma Sullivan.

"Wake up, lovebirds, breakfast is ready!" she called. Courtney opened her eyes to find herself snuggled against Duncan, her head on his bare chest. She quickly rolled away and slipped out of bed, her face flaming red, hoping he hadn't noticed. He had noticed but he hadn't minded one bit. Duncan got out of bed and put his clothes back on.

"Duncan, will you ask Mrs Sullivan to come and help me with my corset please?" Courtney requested. Duncan nodded and exited the bedroom to find Wilma.

"Good morning, m'lord, how did you sleep?" she asked when he found her in the kitchen.

"Well, thank you. Cornelia would like some help dressing if you wouldn't mind," Duncan requested. Wilma nodded and headed to the bedroom while Duncan headed to the dining table where Curtis and his children were already stuffing their faces. Duncan grinned and joined them piling his plate with bacon and eggs. Courtney and Wilma soon appeared and they all ate breakfast together, the children chattering away. Halfway through there was a knock at the door. Curtis got up to answer it.

"We're very popular lately," Wilma joked.

"Mr Sullivan, is that right?" a gruff voice came. William scooted off his chair to go and see who was at the door.

"That's right, what can I so for you, Sir?" Curtis replied. William skipped back to the table.

"It's the royal guards," he whispered. Duncan and Courtney exchanged a look of dismay. Wilma eyed them curiously while they eavesdropped on the conversation.

"You'll be happy to know that we killed your ogre on our way through the forest," the guard informed Curtis.

"Thank you, Sir, it is much appreciated. He's been terrorising people for years, in fact–," Curtis started, but the guard cut him off.

"Another thing. You may or may not have heard that Princess Courtney is missing. We have reason to believe she has been kidnapped and passed through this way, have you seen her?" the guard asked. Wilma stared at Courtney in shock.

"Shit." Duncan cursed.

"Princess…" Wilma whispered.

"Yes, I'm the princess," Courtney admitted quickly. Duncan felt a little disappointed at how easily she'd given up. He should've known she'd turn him in at the first chance. "Listen, Wilma, you have to help us. If they catch us, they will kill him. Please help us escape," Courtney pleaded. Duncan could hardly believe his ears. True to her word, Courtney was going to stay with him and see the ransom through, though she could simply walk out now and be taken safely back to her castle. Wilma regarded the pair.

"What does the princess look like?" Curtis was asking.

"Lizzie, quickly tell your father in our special code that he has to lie to the guard. Scott, go to the stable and get a horse ready. You two," she gestured to Duncan and Courtney, "come with me." Wilma grabbed a bag and started filling it with food as well as some other odds and ends. She gave them each a cloak and led them to the back door.

"You won't mind if we search the place then?" they heard the guard say.

"The things I do for young love!" Wilma shook her head. "I hope you remember this kindness, princess!"

"I will," Courtney assured her, glad that Wilma still believed Courtney and Duncan were in love. She must have thought they had run away together to elope or she surely would have turned them in. Courtney and Duncan waved to her as they ran to the stable where Scott was waiting with a horse. The pair mounted the horse and gave Scott their thanks.

"Good luck, Your Grace," Scott bowed his head to Courtney, "and…"

"Duncan," Duncan stated.

"Good luck, Duncan," Scott handed Duncan the reins and Duncan dug his heels into the horses sides and they cantered away towards Dragonflame Tower.

* * *

They saw Dragonflame Tower long before they reached it. It sat on the edge of a cliff on the coastline, the only evidence other than piles of rubble, that there had ever been a castle there. In its glory days the castle had housed the previous royal family, but when Courtney's grandfather took the throne he'd had it demolished, for it served as a reminder of his third cousin, the king before him, whom he'd hated. He'd left the watchtower and it had been used as a lighthouse for a time, until the dragon decided to inhabit the area and no one wanted to go near it. There had most likely been no one to enter the tower in fifty years. Its name had been changed when the dragon arrived and no one remembered what it had been called before that.

Duncan and Courtney had to travel through an expanse of trees before they reached the rocky and barren cliffs. Duncan stopped the horse in the tree line. There was a grassy area between the trees and the rocks that stretched for fifty metres and then the ground became grey stone. Large boulders jutted from the ground and Duncan could see why this made a good resting place for a dragon.

He dismounted and Courtney followed. Duncan tied the horse's bridle to a tree, not wanting it to get eaten by the dragon. They stood just inside the tree line, looking over at the tower.

"Dragonflame Tower," Courtney observed.

"Yeah. That's where I'm supposed to hide you until the ransom is paid," Duncan informed her. Courtney nodded.

"Where's the dragon?" she asked.

"I'm not sure…" he looked up at the sky, expecting to see the great beast circling overhead. Daniel had told him this was where he was to keep the princess, except Daniel had failed to mention how to get past the dragon. It was nowhere in sight now though, so maybe they could just walk to the tower? "Come on," Duncan said to Courtney. He almost grabbed her hand but stopped himself at the last second, instead placing his hand on his knife hilt. He headed out of the trees and across the grass, Courtney just behind him. They made it to the rocky area without any trouble but as Duncan stepped out from behind a huge boulder, he saw a huge golden eye staring at him.

"Oh wow…" Duncan breathed, awestruck. A green scaled eyelid blinked over the eye and Duncan felt compelled towards it.

"What is it?" Courtney asked urgently.

"Dragon." Duncan stated.

"What's it doing?" Courtney whispered. She went to peer out from behind the boulder but Duncan pushed her back. "I want to see!" she whined.

"Too dangerous," Duncan said, edging closer to the dragon. Courtney huffed.

"If it's so dangerous, what are you doing? You're going to get us killed!" she scolded in a hushed tone.

"It's fine!" Duncan assured her, but no sooner had the words come out of his mouth than the eye began to move. Huge green wings spread above him, blocking out the sun and casting a shadow over the pair. "Holy shit!" Duncan swore as the dragon lifted into the sky. "Run!" he told Courtney. She didn't hesitate as she ran for the trees and Duncan was right behind her. The dragon didn't seem to be in much of a hurry as it rose higher and higher into the sky. It screeched as it dove for them, letting out a huge gust of fire that narrowly missed them, but Duncan could feel the heat at his back. He had no idea if they'd be safe in the trees but it was the best hope he had. Courtney was just ahead of him and he'd just about caught up with her when her foot got caught on something and she fell to the ground with a sharp cry.

"Courtney!" Duncan yelled, quickly coming to a stop. The dragon rose into the air, preparing itself for another dive. "Are you okay?" Duncan asked.

"I think I twisted my ankle… argh, god it hurts," she glanced up at the sky nervously. "What did I even trip on?" she looked down at the ground, searching through the grass.

"Who cares? Let's just get out of here!" Duncan urged. He was about to pick her up and carry her, but she stopped him.

"Duncan, look at this!" she had her hand on a metal rung, which was apparently what she had tripped over. Duncan was looking up at the dragon which was circling back to them. Courtney pulled on the metal rung and was pleased to find it opened a trap door. "Duncan!" she snapped. Duncan reluctantly brought his eyes back to the ground and his mouth dropped open as he saw what Courtney had discovered. The dragon made another attack, diving down and red hot fire as Courtney and Duncan scrambled through the trapdoor and slammed the heavy iron door behind them. Courtney fell to her knees, not being able to stand on her quickly swelling ankle.

"That was close. Thank god we found this trapdoor!" Duncan said.

"No thanks to you!" Courtney frowned.

"I totally knew this was here," Duncan lied.

"You really are the worst kidnapper of all time," Courtney rolled her eyes. Duncan ignored her and peered into the darkness. He couldn't see two inches in front of him it was so dark.

"Where are we?" he wondered out loud.

"I expect this is a tunnel that leads to the tower," Courtney reasoned. Duncan felt around in front of him with his foot and found that there was a step leading downwards just in front of him. He carefully stepped onto it, then tried the same thing again, finding another step.

"I think we're at the top of a staircase…" Duncan informed her. "Come on," he said. Courtney, who had been kneeling down, tried to stand but found she couldn't put any weight on her left ankle, the one she'd caught in the handle to the trapdoor. She gasped in pain and sank back to her knees.

"I can't walk," she told Duncan. Duncan sighed and stepped back up to the top step to help her, when a voice carried through the tunnel.

"Who's there?" the voice called. Duncan spun around to see the flicker of a torch at the bottom of the staircase. "Duncan, is that you?" the familiar voice called again.

"Yeah, it's me," Duncan called back.

"Who is that?" Courtney whispered.

"That's my brother, Daniel," Duncan sighed.


	8. Chains

**Chapter Eight – Chains**

"Have you got her?" Daniel called up.

"Yes, I've got her!" Duncan called back. "She can't walk though, she twisted her ankle."

"Well you'll have to carry her then! And for god's sake what took you so long to get here?" Daniel shouted.

"Can we talk about this later?" Duncan snapped. "By the way, thanks for giving me the inside information of how to get into the tower," he added sarcastically.

"I figured you'd find it. Now come on, I have things to tell you!" Daniel demanded before disappearing again. Duncan grumbled some insults under his breath as he turned back to Courtney. He leaned down and picked her up and threw her over his shoulder.

"Hey!" she protested.

"What? You can't walk!" Duncan pointed out as he began to carefully make his way down the staircase.

"You could at least carry me in a more respectable fashion!" she complained.

"Darling, nothing about this escapade has been respectable, so why would I start now?" Duncan replied. Courtney huffed in resignation. Duncan finally reached the bottom of the staircase and began walking along the tunnel. The air was cool down here and he could feel Courtney shiver against him. He kept both hands on her at all times, careful not to drop her. He still couldn't see anything and though Courtney wasn't overly heavy, her weight was still causing him some pain in his shoulder. Duncan cursed his brother for being so unhelpful. He almost tripped up the next set of stairs which obviously lead up to the tower. Duncan sighed as he trudged up them, shifting Courtney slightly on his shoulder so as to redistribute her weight.

"He could have at least walked in front of me with the torch," Duncan muttered as he walked.

"You really don't like your brother, do you?" Courtney observed.

"'Course I like him. He's my older brother, he taught me everything I know," Duncan said.

"Everything about how to be an asshole," Courtney said under her breath.

"I may be an asshole but I believe I saved your life yesterday," Duncan defended.

"It was your fault my life was in danger!" Courtney pointed out.

"If you'd just gone along with it you never would have run into that ogre!" Duncan growled.

"I'm supposed to just be happy to be kidnapped?" Courtney screeched. Duncan reached the top of the stairs and walked into the bottom floor of the tower, where it was finally light as the sun came streaming through the windows. He dropped Courtney on the ground, a little rougher than necessary, panting from exertion. "You're a criminal and I'm helping you so you owe me big time!" Courtney snapped after Duncan said nothing.

"Well I've got news for you, I've got nothing to offer you! You're all I've got." Duncan retorted. Courtney opened her mouth to speak but she hesitated, unsure what he really meant. Duncan realised his words had come out wrong and he hastened to explain himself. "I just mean, what can I possibly give you to repay you for not turning me in?" he whispered.

"All I want is to go home, okay?" Courtney told him. Duncan nodded. He looked at her for a moment, studying her carefully.

"Why'd you do it anyway?" he asked.

"Do what?" she replied.

"Run off with me. Not turn me in. The guards were right there," Duncan said hesitantly, sitting down on the stone ground beside her.

"I told you, I don't want to see your brother starve. What's his name anyway?" Courtney asked.

"David." Duncan told her. "Is that really all?" he pressed. Courtney shrugged.

"I guess I want to see how it ends," she confessed.

"How what ends?" Duncan queried.

"This adventure," Courtney grinned. Duncan smiled back. "Plus, I don't want you to die. You may be a criminal and an asshole, but you aren't all bad," Courtney laughed. Duncan rolled his eyes and shoved her lightly with his shoulder. Her dark eyes gazed up at him and he felt that familiar urge to lean in and kiss her. Courtney glanced at his lips for a moment and he wondered if she was thinking the same thing. She twisted around to face him better but as she did a sharp pain shot through her ankle and she remembered the injury. She groaned in pain and clutched at her ankle.

"Let me look at it," Duncan insisted. He leant over her injured foot and inspected the ankle. "It's not broken at least," he informed her. "But I think it's sprained or something. I'm no medical expert but it looks pretty swollen."

"What should I do?" Courtney asked.

"Try not to put any weight on it I guess. Maybe I should bandage it to stop it getting any more swollen," he suggested. At that moment Daniel came down the spiral staircase in the middle of the room.

"What are you doing?" he asked his brother.

"She hurt her ankle," Duncan replied.

"So what?" Daniel shrugged.

"So we can't hand her over injured," Duncan said through gritted teeth.

"We need to get her upstairs," Daniel informed Duncan.

"Why?" Duncan asked.

"That's where the chains are," Daniel said as if it were obvious. Duncan looked at his brother in disgust.

"There is no way I'm letting you chain me up!" Courtney declared.

"You don't have a choice in the matter, sweetheart," Daniel spat. Daniel calling Courtney sweetheart made Duncan's skin crawl.

"We aren't chaining her," Duncan asserted.

"I'm the brains of this operation and I say we are," Daniel argued. He walked over to Courtney and grabbed her roughly, picking her up and throwing her over his shoulders in much the same fashion that Duncan had. Except Duncan felt annoyed at his brother for treating her like that.

"Excuse me!" Courtney objected. Daniel ignored her and started up the staircase to the next level. Duncan followed him.

"Be careful with her for god's sake!" Duncan scolded. Daniel dropped Courtney on the ground once he reached the second floor. He started putting her wrists in the cuffs that hung from the wall. "This is unnecessary Daniel! She isn't going to run away, she's got a sprained ankle!" Duncan pointed out.

"Duncan, you've jeopardised this mission enough by being so late, I'm not letting you screw it up anymore." Daniel finished chaining Courtney and he put a gag in her mouth to stop her from complaining. He then started back down the stairs, taking the keys for the locks on the chains with him. Duncan shot Courtney and apologetic look before following Daniel down the stairs.

"Daniel! She's royalty, you can't just treat her like a common prisoner! Her father won't like it if she's mistreated," Duncan tried to tell his brother. Daniel spun around to face Duncan as they reached the bottom level of the tower again, anger filling his face.

"That's what she is, Duncan, a prisoner! And once we get our money we can get rid of her. We're not going to fail this mission because you developed some ridiculous crush!" Daniel yelled. Duncan felt his face go red, and tried to tell himself it was anger, not embarrassment.

"I don't have a crush on her! I just don't think all these precautions are needed. She told me-," Duncan tried to explain but Daniel cut him off.

"I know what she told you. I was listening to your conversation. You're kidding yourself if you think you can ever be with her. She's a princess and you're a dirty criminal." Daniel said scornfully.

"Don't you think I know that?!" Duncan shouted. He groaned as he realised that was basically admitting that he did have feelings for her. Except that he didn't. Did he? He thought about saving her from the ogre, pretending to be married to her, sharing her bed, her kissing him on the nose, having her in his arms. He thought about the way she looked in the flimsy nightgown and the way she'd saved his neck, even after all he'd put her through. He thought about the freckles on her nose at the way she wound him up and the way he wanted to kiss her all the time. "Fuck." he said out loud. Daniel shook his head and looked at his brother with a mixture of pity and disappointment.

"Anyway, what I had to tell you was that I've delivered the demands and I'm going to collect the ransom now. When I make sure it's the right amount I'll come back and we'll hand her over to her guards or whatever and we can be rid of this whole situation for good," Daniel said. He threw his hooded cloak over his head and grabbed his flaming torch from the holster on the wall and started down the stairs back into the tunnel without a second glance back at his brother.

* * *

**So who hates Daniel even more than before? haha! I know these chapters are really short and I'm sorry but I'm going with shorter chapters but more frequent updates rather than long chapters with hardly any updating. **

**Hope you liked this chapter please review! xx**


	9. Candle by the Window

**Chapter Nine – Candle by the Window**

Duncan hesitated at the bottom of the stairs, unsure if he would be able to talk to Courtney now that he'd admitted to himself that he had feelings for her. He knew it was ridiculous and that nothing could ever come of it, but that didn't stop him from wanting her. He took a deep breath and started up the stairs. He stopped once he reached the second floor and gazed at Courtney chained up against the wall. She looked so hopeless with the chains and the gag and her swollen ankle. Duncan walked over to her and removed the gag from her mouth.

"Your brother is a fucking bastard," she spat. Duncan sighed.

"I know," he didn't even bother trying to defend Daniel this time. "I'm sorry." Courtney pursed her lips.

"Can you get these off?" she asked, shaking the chains attached to her wrists. Duncan shook his head.

"Daniel took the keys," he told her. Courtney groaned in frustration.

"Can you at least do something about my ankle?" she demanded. Duncan nodded. He looked around the room for something to bind her ankle and noticed some old faded curtains hanging over the window. He pushed aside the heavy velvet and behind it was a layer of what used to be white lace, although it wasn't white anymore. He ripped some shreds from it and took them back over to Courtney to wrap them tightly around her ankle. She winced as he did so and Duncan glanced up at her to make sure she was okay before continuing.

"Daniel's gone to get the ransom. You should be home by tonight," Duncan informed Courtney. Courtney simply nodded. Duncan finished with her ankle and sat down beside her, leaning up against the wall. This room was much the same as the downstairs room. There was a staircase leading down and a staircase leading up to another level. There were four windows, two of which were open. Courtney was chained by one of the open windows. There wasn't much else in the room, everything had obviously been taken when the people of the lighthouse fled the dragon.

"What do we do now?" Courtney asked.

"Now we wait," Duncan replied. Courtney sighed and closed her eyes, leaning her head against the wall. Duncan studied her intently, trying to memorise her features. He knew this would be the last they'd see of each other and the thought filled him with dread. He sighed as he too closed his eyes and leant against the wall. He couldn't believe his own stupidity at falling for a princess. Even if she wasn't a princess he knew she could never see him as anyone other than the man who'd robbed her of her freedom, nearly gotten her killed and dragged her across the countryside. It was a hopeless case.

The pair was silent for a while until Courtney began to sing.

"_Lights on the shoreline,_

_Search the faces of the lost._

_Drowned by the moonlight,_

_I close my eyes and I hear your voice,_" she sang. The song was slow and sweet and melancholy and Duncan had never heard it before, but now that he had he never wanted it to end. Courtney had a beautiful voice and he felt he could listen to her sing forever. He opened his eyes to gaze upon her face as she sang.

"_Leave a candle by the window,_

_And I will follow it to your arms._

_Leave a candle by the window,_

_And I will follow it to your arms._" Duncan really wanted to ask her what the song was but he didn't want to interrupt in case she stopped altogether.

"_Sirens, sirens of the sea_

_Please bring him back to me._

_Love, when you left me,_

_Did you not see the coming storm?_

_Your ship struck the shoreline._

_Were you trying to sail back home?_" Courtney's brow was creased and there was a sorrow in her voice like she had experienced the loss herself.

"_A flame, ever burning_

_For I'll be waiting for your smile_

_Our love never fading_

_Never saying goodbye,_" Courtney finished the song and they sat in silence for another moment before Duncan could bring himself to break the spell.

"What was that song?" he asked. Courtney opened her eyes and looked at him.

"Candle by the window," she replied.

"I've never heard it before," Duncan stated. He was surprised as he had heard quite a lot of songs. Singing was a favourite past time of his mother and a lot of other people that lived in his street. It didn't cost any money and it made people feel good.

"No I don't suppose you would have. I wrote it, you see," Courtney confessed.

"You wrote that?" Duncan asked incredulously. Courtney nodded. "How?" It had never occurred to him before that people actually wrote songs… they'd just always been there. And if he had thought about it, he would have supposed songs would have been written by court minstrels, not princesses.

"I don't know… I just heard a story once about how this woman's husband died at sea and I really felt for her… and these words just came to me. I play the lute and Gwen plays the flute so we kind of just worked it out together," Courtney explained. Duncan shook is head in awe. This princess was constantly surprising him and with every new revelation he fell for her a little more. It was getting out of hand.

"Have you written a lot of songs?" Duncan asked.

"No, just that one." Courtney told him. "It's strange but I feel to write a song you have to have some really strong emotion in you. The woman who told me that story obviously loved her husband intensely. I've never felt that from anyone else,"

"But what about your own emotions?" Duncan wondered.

"I guess I've never really felt that strongly about anything or anyone," Courtney shrugged. It was true, she'd never felt attached to anyone really. She didn't have any siblings and her ladies in waiting were there solely for her amusement and she grew tired of them easily. She loved her parents but she didn't really feel any affection for them. She looked at Duncan, wondering if he pitied her but she couldn't read his expression. She gazed into his bright blue eyes and she thought for a moment she could write a song about them.

"You have a beautiful voice," Duncan whispered.

"Thank you," Courtney replied with a shy smile.

"Will you teach me the song?"

"Sure."

* * *

It was almost dark by the time Daniel returned. He raced up the stairs with the torch in his hand to find Courtney and Duncan still sitting on the ground talking. He walked quickly over to them and handed Duncan the torch before crouching over Courtney to unlock the chains.

"It's time to take her home then?" Duncan asked.

"No," Daniel replied shortly.

"What do you mean? Did you get the money?" Duncan pressed.

"No! The king is refusing to pay it!" Daniel snapped.

"Then what the fuck are we doing?" Duncan asked aggressively, standing up and putting the flaming torch in a holster on the wall. He was getting sick of Daniel not telling him things.

"We're moving her." Daniel replied. Duncan shoved his brother away from Courtney just as he got the last lock undone. He pushed Daniel up against the wall roughly, pinning him so he couldn't get away.

"Tell me what's going on right now," he growled. Daniel was winded from the force of Duncan throwing him against the wall, and shocked that his brother had finally snapped.

"They figured out where we are," Daniel choked out. "The guards refused to go near the dragon so the king is holding a competition to see who can rescue her. The prize is 1000 gold coins, which doesn't make sense since that's more than we asked for. Anyone who wants to enter has to report to the castle courtyard in Evershire by tomorrow at noon, so we have to move her before they find us." Daniel explained. Duncan let him go and he sank down to the floor, rubbing his shoulder where Duncan had shoved him.

"What good is moving her going to do? Where are we even going to take her?" Duncan questioned.

"I haven't figured that part out yet. But we need to make them think if they don't pay us then we're going to kill her," Daniel said urgently.

"No. We're not moving her. I've had enough of your crappy ideas," Duncan refused.

"Well do you have a better idea? Otherwise we'll be right back where we started, or even worse they'll catch us and string us up!" Daniel spat, standing back up.

"As a matter of fact I do have a better idea," Duncan replied with a smirk.

"Well don't hold out on us, what is it?" Daniel scowled.

"I'm going to rescue her," Duncan declared.

* * *

**Ok I think this chapter was kind of lame sorry. Anyway the song is actually a real song by Karliene Reynolds and if you like celtic music at all or Game of Thrones you should check her out on youtube she has a beautiful voice. Hopefully the next chapter will be more interesting than this one was!**


	10. For Luck

**Ok so I realise I didn't explain very well how the ransom would have worked, but basically Daniel would have sent a letter to the king giving terms and when are where they should leave the money. Somewhere in the open so that guards wouldn't be able to hide in the trees and capture him. If the king had given the ransom he would have sent someone to drop off the money but when Daniel got there there was nothing there and he would have found out about the competition from some people in a town he was passing through. Sorry for not including this info in the story!**

* * *

**Chapter Ten – For Luck**

"What are you talking about?" Daniel snapped at his brother. Courtney rolled her eyes as she watched the two argue.

"Isn't it obvious?" she interrupted. "He's going to enter the competition and win the thousand coins." She gave Daniel a look of contempt.

"You, shut up." Daniel pointed threateningly at her. He turned back to Duncan and Courtney poked her tongue out at him while he wasn't looking "Is what she said true?"

"Yeah," Duncan nodded.

"I don't like it," Daniel said after a moment of thought. Duncan sighed exasperatedly.

"What's wrong with it?" he asked. Courtney could tell he didn't really care what Daniel's objections were, as this was the best way for everyone to get what they wanted. He glanced at Courtney and she nodded to let him know she thought so too. She really just wanted to go home but she also knew they couldn't just give her up without getting their money or this whole thing would have been for naught. Daniel seemed to be struggling to come up with any reasons to not go through with this plan, other than it hadn't been his idea. Duncan sighed.

"Fine. We'll do your plan. What do we do with her," Daniel pointed a thumb at Courtney, "while you're off in Evershire?"

"You stay here with her. You'll need to get some food and bedding though, I don't know how long I'll be," Duncan commanded.

"Seriously, bedding?" Daniel scoffed.

"She's a princess you idiot," Duncan retorted.

"And where am I supposed to get all this from?" Daniel asked, folding his arms.

"There's some food that the Sullivans gave us in the bag I brought with me." Duncan remembered.

"Who the fuck are the Sullivans?" Daniel questioned.

"It doesn't matter!" Duncan retorted.

"And what about the bedding?"

"You'll have to steal it I guess," Duncan shrugged.

"You can't steal it!" Courtney disapproved. She didn't like the sound of sleeping on this hard stone floor but she still wasn't happy with stealing from people. Duncan raised an eyebrow at her.

"What if I pay it back once I get the money?" Duncan asked. Courtney pursed her lips but nodded.

"I don't know how to steal things!" Daniel complained.

"It's easy, you just wait till they aren't looking and then you take it," Duncan told him. Daniel grumbled but didn't say anything loud enough for Duncan to hear. "Okay, well I guess I better go if I want to make it to Evershire by noon tomorrow… is there horse still out there?" Duncan asked. Daniel nodded. Duncan went to go downstairs and Daniel grabbed the torch from the wall and went to follow him. Courtney suddenly realised that Duncan was leaving and that she'd be stuck here alone with his horrible brother.

"Duncan!" She called out. Duncan stopped at looked at her expectantly. She glanced at Daniel. "Can I talk to you alone for a moment?" she said primly. Duncan shot his brother a look and Daniel sighed and walked downstairs, leaving Courtney and Duncan in almost total darkness, since the sun was nearly set.

"What is it?" Duncan asked, walking over to her.

"Please don't leave me alone with him," she whispered. She was unchained now but she still couldn't use her ankle, and she felt rather uneasy about being left alone with a man she barely knew when she was weakened and didn't know if she could defend herself. But then again, she hardly knew Duncan either, did she? They'd only met two days ago, and it wasn't exactly the best first impression. But she felt like she knew him, and for some reason she trusted him. And she really didn't want him to go. Duncan knelt down beside her and took one of her hands. She couldn't really explain the tingles she felt when he touched her, but she knew she didn't want him to let go.

"Princess, I promise he won't hurt you. I know he seems like an ass, and he kind of is, but he's my brother and I trust him. And you trust me, right?" Duncan asked. Courtney nodded, but she didn't feel reassured. "I'll be back before you know and… and then we can go our separate ways and you'll never have to be bothered by me or Daniel again," he nodded assuredly at the end of his speech. Courtney felt a lump form in her throat at the words and she swallowed, trying to shake the feeling that she would be losing something when he left.

"Alright. Just… hurry back, okay?" she commanded. Duncan grinned and nodded. He hesitated for a moment, still holding her hand in his. He seemed to be trying to make a decision and was searching for the answer in Courtney's eyes. Her heart lurched as he let it go because she knew he'd never touch her again. In fact this was probably the last time they'd be alone together. Duncan seemed to realise this too because he didn't stand up and leave immediately, rather he just stared at her for a moment. He then seemed to make up his mind as he swiftly put his hand on the back of her neck and drew her lips to his. Courtney felt a jolt right through her at the contact and she leaned into the kiss, wanting more. Duncan pulled away first, leaving her still reaching for him. The kiss didn't last long but it was enough for Courtney to realise how much she wanted him. She looked at Duncan for an explanation and he smiled sadly.

"For luck," he said. He got up then and left her sitting on the floor. He stopped at the top of the stairs to glance back at her before disappearing for good. Courtney touched her fingertips to her lips, still feeling the lingering presence of his kiss.

* * *

Daniel was waiting at the bottom of the stairs when Duncan descended.

"What did she want?" he demanded.

"She doesn't trust you," Duncan informed his brother. There was no way he was going to tell Daniel about kissing her, he'd most likely just make fun of him for it and remind him how nothing could ever happen between them.

"I'm extremely trustworthy!" Daniel objected. Duncan gave him a withering look and Daniel had the decency to look a little sheepish. The two of them entered the tunnel that lead back outside, Daniel leading the way since he had the torch. They opened the trapdoor carefully at the other end, checking to make sure the dragon was nowhere in sight. The coast was clear so the brothers quickly hurried over to the trees where the horse was tied up. Duncan gave Daniel the bag that Wilma Sullivan had bestowed upon him and threw on the hooded cloak he'd received before quickly mounting the horse.

"How long do you think you'll be?" Daniel asked.

"Hopefully no longer than two days," Duncan guessed. "You can't be here when I get here. I might not be alone and I don't want you to get caught." Daniel nodded in understanding.

"I'm sorry I got us into this mess," Daniel whispered. Duncan nodded in appreciation of the apology.

"I'll forgive you one day," Duncan grinned. "Take good care of Princess Courtney, okay? She means a lot to me," he said.

"I know. I'll try." Daniel promised. Duncan shook his brother's hand before digging his heels into the sides of the horse and riding off into the forest.


	11. Godspeed

**Chapter Eleven –Godspeed**

Lord Justin Toadie stood before King Chris as Chris stroked his beard in contemplation. Justin sighed to himself.

"I don't understand why we're making this a competition! And the prize is 250 gold coins over what the kidnapper asked for. Why didn't you just pay the ransom?" Justin huffed. He was very irritated that his betrothed had been kidnapped and that no one seemed to be doing anything about it. The princess was a better match than he could have ever hoped for and if she was killed he'd have to settle for someone who was merely nobility and not royalty and frankly that wasn't good enough for the lord of Toadpeak.

"I'm not going to give some criminal any of my money! I'd rather give it to someone deserving of it!" the king answered.

"She better not come back damaged in any way!" Justin growled.

"I'm sure she's fine! This competition is going to be so much fun! I wonder who's going to enter…" Chris pondered.

"It doesn't matter who enters, it's obvious I'll be the one to win," Justin scoffed. "If you just let me go after her now I'm sure I can have her back by tonight!"

"I'm surprised you're even entering. Aren't you afraid your pretty face will get damaged? And you know there's a dragon, right?" Chris said patronisingly.

"I know, but I mean I'm sure I can charm it with my looks," Justin grinned. He wasn't really afraid of the dragon, he was more afraid of the possibility of spending a night in the woods. He didn't do well when he wasn't in the luxury of his own private chambers and he knew there were all kinds of creepy crawlies out there. That's why he wanted to leave now and not wait for noon. The sooner he could leave the sooner he could be back in the comfort of his castle.

"You're pretty certain you're going to win, aren't you?" Chris chuckled. Justin nodded. "We should make this interesting."

"Isn't it interesting enough?" Justin sighed. Chris shook his head. "What did you have in mind?" Justin asked.

"What if I offered my daughter's hand in marriage as the prize?" Chris suggested.

"But… I… she… we had a deal!" Justin spluttered.

"But you know you're going to win!" Chris reminded him.

"Right…" Justin said slowly. "But what if the winner doesn't want to marry her?"

"Then they can choose the coins. What do you say? Or are you too scared?" Chris challenged. Justin had never known a man as reckless as King Chris. He was offering up his only daughter's hand in marriage to whoever may be so bold to claim it. What if Justin himself didn't win? She may end up married to someone ugly or a peasant with nothing! Justin studied Chris, trying to work out if he was serious. Chris was grinning like a child. Justin sighed, he'd just have to make sure he got to the princess first. Maybe no one else would enter the competition.

"Fine, I agree." Justin held out his hand and Chris shook it enthusiastically.

* * *

Lindsay skipped along happily behind her sister, Beth, as they made their way to the castle courtyard. The girls had lived in Evershire their entire lives and they worked in the dress shop that their father owned. Lindsay was perfectly happy working there, she loved the fashions and the customers, and even though they weren't incredibly rich they had a fairly nice house and they never went without food.

Beth, however, hated working in the shop. She wasn't good with customers like Lindsay was and honestly she knew nothing about fashion or dressmaking. Her father often scolded her about it, but Beth barely heard him. She was too busy daydreaming about the man she had her sights set on. His name was Brady and he was the second son of a lord, which meant he was just a little out of reach for poor Beth. That's why she'd decided she and Lindsay would try to rescue the princess and win the thousand coins. Even half of it would be enough for Brady's family to consider her as a possible match for their son.

"If we win the money I'm going to buy a nice new dress and some hair ribbons. Maybe I'll buy something for mother and father as well!" Lindsay gushed. "What are you going to buy Beth?"

"I told you already, I'm using the money to try and win over Brady," Beth reminded her sister patiently.

"Oh, right! I remember now. Who's Brady again?" Lindsay asked. She wasn't exactly the smartest girl around if truth be told. Beth sighed.

"He's a lord and I'm completely in love with him, but he doesn't even know I exist!" Beth told Lindsay for the hundredth time.

"Why doesn't he know you exist? All you have to do is like flutter your eyelashes a bit and he should come running!" Lindsay smiled. Beth sighed again. That was easy for Lindsay to say, she was tall and thin and blonde, with enormous breasts and every man in the area wanted to be with her. Some just for a night, but plenty wanted to marry her as well. Their father knew this and forced every man to go through him first, since Lindsay hadn't taken a particular liking to any of them. Their father hadn't liked any of them either it seemed, as he turned them all down. Beth thought he should make a decision soon because Lindsay wasn't the brightest of girls and Beth feared she may be tricked into sleeping with one of them.

Lindsay didn't notice that Beth wasn't as pretty as she was, and while most people looked over Beth in favour of her more beautiful sister, Lindsay never looked down on Beth or treated her differently and was always outraged on her behalf when people brushed her aside for her plain looks. On top of that, Lindsay always did what Beth told her to, including participating in the competition to rescue Princess Courtney. Both girls had always wished to be princesses their whole lives and living in such close proximity to the real princess often made them wistful.

"Maybe Princess Courtney will want us to be her ladies in waiting after we rescue her!" Lindsay hoped. Beth shook her head, knowing that would never happen. From what she'd heard about the princess, she was stuck up and didn't like to associate with commoners.

"Come on, Lindsay. If we don't hurry we won't be there by noon!" Beth pulled her sister along and they made their way to the castle courtyard.

* * *

"I see," Harold said to his pet frog. The frog had told him about the competition to save the princess, and had suggested Harold take the chance to win the prize with his superior wizarding skills. Harold was the only wizard in the area and people often came to him to perform spells and buy potions. He didn't really need the money, but he knew he could somehow use his powers to rescue the princess. Maybe the frog was right, Harold needed to get out of his cottage and challenge himself. He rarely got out these days, and maybe he could meet some new people. Harold nodded to the frog, making his decision.

* * *

King Chris looked down on the three people in the courtyard. Beth, Lindsay and Justin stood before him, while others gathered around to see who would enter the competition.

"Three people, is that it?" Chris scowled. He'd really hoped Justin would have a lot more competition than two girls who looked like they were barely even sixteen. It was noon now though and no one else was stepping forward. "Very well-," He was cut off by someone appearing in the courtyard in a puff of smoke. The crowd gasped as Harold coughed at the smoke that surrounded him.

"Sorry I'm late," he said once he'd recovered.

"You're entering?" Chris asked dubiously. Harold nodded. Chris sighed

"Fine, now if we can get this underway-," Chris started again, but was once more interrupted. Duncan rode in on his horse and quickly jumped off and stood next to Justin.

"I'm here to enter the competition," he announced. Chris frowned at him.

"Is there anyone else who cares to enter, or can I continue?" he said crossly. There was silence from the crowd so Chris figured it was safe to continue. "I am entrusting the five of you with my daughter's life. Whoever returns with Courtney will win one thousand gold coins, or they may choose to take her hand in marriage!" Chris announced. "Good luck and Godspeed!" Chris waved them off and the mismatched group headed out into the great unknown.

* * *

**Ok I feel like these chapters are getting worse and worse. I'm sorry! I'm not really feeling it at the moment and I've got no inspiration or motivation... so sorry. I'm going to try and finish this story though.**


	12. A Penniless Rogue

**Chapter Twelve – A Penniless Rogue**

Everyone in the rescue party of five had a horse, including Harold, which everyone else thought was odd because if he had magic why didn't he just magic himself all the way to the tower? They rode together until they were out of town and travelling on the northbound road.

"Well, I'll see all you fools later once I've rescued the princess and won my money!" Duncan said, about to ride off the road and into the surrounding forest.

"Where are you going?" Justin asked.

"To rescue to princess, obviously," Duncan rolled his eyes.

"Through the forest? That is not the way to Dragonflame Tower," Justin scoffed.

"Uh, yeah it is. That's the way…" Duncan had been about to say that he had come from that direction but cut himself off when he realised he couldn't let these people know he'd already been there.

"That's the way what?" asked Harold.

"That's the way I'd go if I wanted to get extremely lost first," Duncan chuckled nervously. "I wasn't thinking straight, I guess I'll just take the road…" he sighed, knowing it would take twice as long if they took all the main roads. But he didn't want to raise suspicion about who he was or where he'd come from.

"It's probably best if we all stick together anyway," Beth reasoned, staring at Justin.

"Totally! This is going to be totally fun guys!" Lindsay gushed happily.

"You realise this is a competition right? It's not a fun adventure where we make friends for life or whatever," Duncan pointed out.

"The girls are obviously just scared," Justin told him. "They clearly won't be able to take the journey, let alone the dragon," he shrugged.

"That is not true! Lindsay and I have as much chance of rescuing Princess Courtney as the rest of you!" Beth protested.

"Sure, whatever you say," Justin rolled his eyes and grinned at Duncan. Duncan raised his eyebrows and nodded until Justin turned away when he screwed up his face in distaste at Justin. Did Justin think he and Duncan were going to be friends? He'd only known the guy five minutes and he already didn't like him. And that had nothing to do with the fact that the pretty boy was engaged to the princess.

"Did you guys know that almost every part of a dragon can be used in some kind of potion? Even its saliva and also its semen!" Harold informed them.

"Ew!" Lindsay screwed up her nose in disgust and Beth made a face.

"If you want to do what it takes to get a dragon's semen, be my guest!" Duncan laughed. Harold turned red, obviously not having thought it that far through.

"Is that why you're going on this quest Harold? To get dragon parts for your potions?" Beth asked.

"Well, that was part of the reason. But also my frog convinced me…" Harold informed them.

"You talk to frogs?" Duncan snorted.

"Yes." Harold snapped.

"If you're a wizard and can do magic and crap why don't you just use a potion to get the princess back?" Duncan asked patronisingly.

"Magic doesn't work like that," Harold said condescendingly.

"Can you all stop talking? You're annoying me and it's giving me wrinkles," Justin interrupted. Duncan rolled his eyes but they all shut up.

* * *

Courtney was glad that Daniel hadn't chained her back up once Duncan had gone, but she still didn't fully trust him. He'd fed her and brought the bedding Duncan had asked him to get so she was reasonably comfortable, although the tower wasn't exactly warm. Her ankle hadn't healed yet either so she still couldn't walk let alone kick him if she needed to. Daniel sat across the room from Courtney staring at her. She was doing her best to ignore him but it was starting to get on her nerves.

"What are you staring at?" Courtney finally snapped. Daniel smirked. It was strange how much he looked like Duncan, and yet when Duncan smirked at her she felt a slight annoyance but when Daniel smirked at her she felt totally repulsed. "Stop that," she ordered.

"You don't have any power here. You can't tell me what to do," Daniel told her. Courtney scowled at him.

"Ugh, you're worse than Duncan!" Courtney muttered.

"Worse at what?"

"Getting on my nerves!" Courtney retorted.

"He is pretty annoying. He's a pretty good guy though. I mean, he's helping me with this whole money thing," Daniel shrugged.

"Yeah, he is," Courtney agreed.

"It's weird that you agree. I mean, the guy kidnapped you and dragged you across the countryside. That can't have been pleasant," Daniel mused.

"He made it more bearable somehow," Courtney shrugged. Daniel stared at her again, cocking his head to the side as if trying to figure her out.

"How did he make it more bearable?" Daniel asked curiously.

"I don't know! He just has this kind of presence… and he makes me feel safe…" Courtney explained slowly. Daniel raised his eyebrows at her. "I can't explain it. It doesn't even make any sense to me!" Courtney finished exasperatedly. Daniel stared at her for a moment, studying her curiously.

"Oh my god, you're in love with him!" he burst out.

"I am not!" Courtney denied, blushing. Daniel started to laugh.

"You know, I'd heard that people who have been kidnapped often fall for their abductors. I didn't think it was actually true!" he chortled.

"What are you talking about?" Courtney snapped.

"Don't worry, you'll get over it," Daniel assured her. Courtney pursed her lips and narrowed her eyes at him.

"Get over what?" Courtney asked exasperatedly.

"You're not really in love with him," Daniel told her.

"I know, I just told you that!" she rolled her eyes, but was glad that Daniel had been convinced so easily. If only she could convince herself as easily, because she was starting to think Daniel had actually been right. She'd barely stopped thinking about Duncan since he'd left and it was driving her insane. Could it really be possible that she'd fallen for a penniless rogue?

"That's not what I meant," Daniel said seriously.

"Well for heavens sake tell me what you meant or shut up," Courtney demanded. Daniel hesitated, and Courtney frowned at him. Why was he being so cryptic?

"You think you're in love with him," Daniel started. He saw that Courtney was about to protest so he quickly kept talking. "I know you do, don't deny it!" Courtney shut her mouth and looked at Daniel with a pained expression. "No need to give me that look, you'll be relieved to know that it's just a phase. Like I said before, I've heard it said that victims of kidnapping sometimes fall for their captors. That's all it is. As soon as you're back in your castle you'll forget all about Duncan." Daniel explained.

"How do you know?"

"It's not like you two have anything in common," Daniel shrugged. Courtney exhaled heavily, closing her eyes and leaning back against the wall. "Are you relieved?" Daniel asked her.

"Not really. Even if what you said is true, I still feel like I love him now. I never knew love was a painful emotion until now," Courtney sighed.

"But at least now you won't do something stupid like propose marriage to him or something," Daniel pointed out. "Though he might be disappointed about that…"

"I'm betrothed anyway. Why would he be disappointed?" Courtney questioned. Daniel looked a little guilty at having revealed Duncan's feelings.

"Don't worry, I'm sure he only likes you because you're a princess. Plus, you're like the only girl he's ever even talked to," Daniel laughed. "And he thinks you're pretty."

"Did he say that?" Courtney asked eagerly. Daniel raised his eyebrows at her disapprovingly. "I mean, I don't care if he thinks I'm pretty," Courtney corrected herself. Daniel smirked and shook his head at her.

"You're pathetic. No, he didn't tell me he thought you were pretty, but it was kind of obvious from the way he was looking at you," he revealed. Courtney smiled to herself and Daniel rolled his eyes. He stood up and headed down the staircase.

"Where are you going?" Courtney called after him.

"I have to go and get some more food before it gets dark. We ate everything your friends gave us already," Daniel called back. "I'll be back soon."

Courtney was glad to get rid of him for a while, although she didn't hate him quite as much as she had initially. He hadn't tried to hurt her and he hadn't chained her up or tortured her or starved her or anything. But he really was even more irritating than Duncan was.

* * *

**A few of you have noticed that Courtney may have developed Stockholm Syndrome so good work on picking that up... later we will find out if that's all it is or whether she genuinely likes him ;) haha! **

**Funny story, I actually sprained my ankle on the weekend so at the moment I am just as helpless as Courtney... it kinda sucks but maybe I'll be able to find the time to write some more while I'm incapacitated. Hope you liked this chapter!**


	13. Wings

**Chapter Thirteen – Wings**

It got dark out rather quickly and Daniel still didn't return with the food. Courtney had nothing to light the torch with either so she had to just sit in the dark and wait for him to return. Maybe he got word that Duncan would be arriving soon and had to stay away. Courtney crawled over to the window and looked out, trying to see if there was anyone coming towards the tower. She could see no one but when she looked out to the stars she saw a flash of fire in the sky, illuminating the intimidating shape of the dragon. It was kind of beautiful from far away, when one wasn't being chased by it and terrified of being burnt to a crisp. The dragon hadn't bothered them since that first day and Courtney wondered if it didn't know they were there or whether it didn't care.

Its huge wings were beating against the night sky as if flew over the trees and back towards the tower. Courtney was mesmerised as the huge beast flew extremely close to the tower and passed by her. She crawled over to the other window to watch the dragon fly over the ocean. It did a somersault in the air and dove into the freezing water. Courtney almost thought that the dragon knew she was watching it and was showing off. She smiled at the thought. The dragon shot back into the sky and back to the tower where it circled around, so close that Courtney could see the detail of its green scales.

"Wow," she breathed. "I wonder if it has a name…" Suddenly the dragon's eye popped into the window. Its eye was almost as big as the window itself and Courtney fell back, startled.

"Of course I have a name!" came the dragon's voice.

"Oh my god, you can talk!" Courtney gasped.

"Yes!" the dragon hissed. "And my name is Heather, thanks for asking!"

"Are you going to kill me?" Courtney asked.

"Why would I do that?" Heather snarled.

"You already tried once!" Courtney reminded her. Heather huffed and let out a burst of fire, causing Courtney to shield her eyes from the heat.

"I thought you were trying to steal my eggs!" Heather defended. Courtney looked at the huge dragon in confusion, wondering why they were even having this conversation.

"Why are you talking to me?" she asked slowly. Heather was silent for a moment.

"I don't know," she finally replied. She paused again and Courtney wondered if it was her turn to speak again, though she could think of nothing to say to the great beast as this whole experience was a little surreal. "I heard you singing yesterday," Heather finally rasped.

"Oh… yes," Courtney said awkwardly.

"Do you think you could do it again?"

"Um… sure. Can I ask one thing in return?" Courtney said.

"What is it?"

"You know the two men who have been coming and going from here?"

"You want me to kill them?" Heather offered.

"No! I want you to _not _kill them," Courtney corrected. Heather nodded her large head and Courtney began to sing her song.

* * *

"I think we should try to ditch the girls," Justin whispered to Duncan as they sat beneath a tree not far from the road. The two girls had wandered off a little further so they could relieve themselves in privacy. It was almost completely dark now and the motley troupe had decided to call it a day and rest for the night. "And also that creepy weirdo wizard," Justin continued. Duncan looked at Justin in distain.

"Look buddy, I'm here for the money. I'm not your ally, I'm just here to get the princess, get my gold and get out of here," Duncan declared. Justin looked somewhat relieved.

"If you rescue her you're not going to claim her hand then?" he clarified. Duncan stared at him for a moment. He'd obviously considered it. King Chris's announcement about the change of prize had startled him, though he hadn't shown it. But since they'd been trekking along he'd had time to think about what it might be like to marry the princess. He had always kind of thought he wouldn't marry. It was hard enough to support the family he had on what little coin he could scrounge up, let alone a wife and children. And even after he'd realised how much he really liked Courtney, he knew he could never actually be with her. But now here was his chance. If he rescued her no one could refute his claim to her hand in marriage. But he also knew that forcing her into a marriage she didn't want would just cause her to hate him. Duncan sighed.

"Hell no. Who'd want to marry some snotty brat of a princess?" he spat. Justin grinned.

"Yeah, you're right. She is a snotty brat. I'm still going to marry her though. And once we're married I'm sure she'll be an obedient wife," Justin chuckled.

"I'd like to see that," Duncan snorted. He highly doubted Courtney would ever be just somebody's obedient wife, there was too much fire in her for that.

"What do you mean?" Justin replied quizzically.

"Uhh… isn't she a bit of a handful? I mean, that's what I've heard. I don't see how you're going to turn her into an obedient wife," Duncan snickered.

"I don't think it will be that hard to train her," Justin shrugged. Duncan frowned, suddenly extremely irritated at Justin.

"Train her? She's not a dog," Duncan snapped.

"You've never met her!" Justin laughed. Duncan scowled. "What do you care anyway? You just want money. I'll tell you what, let's make a deal," Justin suggested. Duncan didn't say anything but he knew he'd never make a deal with a piece of scum like Lord Justin Toadie. "We help each other rescue the princess. When we return her safely, you can have the cash prize while I get to keep the princess for myself. How does that sound?" Duncan glared at Justin. He knew the toad was only suggesting this deal because he knew Duncan would beat him to the princess. Plus he probably had no idea how to get past the dragon. On the other hand if Duncan didn't agree to the deal, odds were that Justin would kill him in his sleep and he'd never see a dime, let alone see Courtney again.

"Fine," Duncan agreed unenthusiastically, while promising himself he'd stab the smarmy bastard in the back as soon as he could. Metaphorically, of course. Justin smiled and leant back against the tree, closing his eyes to sleep.

* * *

The next morning the travelling party set off together as soon as it was light, continuing along the road they'd been following yesterday. They soon had to travel uphill as they started heading into the mountains and high country. Harold kept pointing out irrelevant things that no one else cared about, Lindsay complained about how far they had to ride and Justin kept making gestures at Duncan about how they were going to get rid of the girls and Harold. Duncan rolled his eyes and started trotting faster, not slowing down until he was a fair way ahead of the others, but still in their sights. He didn't want to listen to them anymore but he also didn't want them to think he was ditching them and going off on his own. He glanced back and Justin caught Justin's eye, who made some hand gestures and indicated Harold before nudging his horse over to the wizard and engaging him conversation. Lindsay and Beth trailed along behind them. Duncan shook his head and turned his attention back to the road in front of him, just in time too, as he had been about to fall off the edge of the mountain and into what seemed like a deep and never ending abyss of fog. Slightly to his left was a rope bridge that looked like it had been there for quite a while. Duncan stared off the edge of the cliff while the others caught up to him.

"Cool…" Harold breathed as he walked up.

"How do we get across? Do we have to fly? Because I don't have wings," asked Lindsay. Duncan just pointed at the bridge.

"That thing doesn't look safe," Beth said hesitantly. "And our horses definitely can't cross." Justin dismounted and grabbed onto the sides of the bridge and shook it. It didn't come away from the cliff or fall apart so he stepped onto it gently.

"Why don't we just get Harold to magic us across to the other side?" Lindsay suggested.

"If His Dorkness could actually do any magic we'd already be at Dragonflame Tower by now," Duncan scoffed, following Justin's lead by getting of his horse and stepping onto the bridge.

"I resent that! I do have magic, it just can't be used to transport people places!" Harold defended, going after Duncan. Beth went after Harold and Lindsay followed behind her.

"It's really not that bad," Justin said, referring to the bridge. It swayed a little as they walked but it actually seemed reasonably sturdy and there were no slats missing from under their feet.

"Yeah, just don't look down," Duncan agreed.

"But if I don't look down, how will I know where to put my feet?" Lindsay asked. Duncan looked back to see her meticulously placing each foot in the centre of each plank of wood, so as not to get it caught in any gaps.

Justin made it safely to the other side of the bridge, and after Duncan had stepped onto the mountain beside him, he pulled out his sword and sliced through one side of the bridge. The three remaining on the bridge screamed as the bridge dropped from beneath them. They managed to grab onto the ropes so they didn't fall to their death.

"What are you doing?" Duncan shouted.

"Cutting them loose. We said we'd ditch them," Justin pointed out.

"Help us!" Lindsay called. "Something happened to the bridge!" she cried.

"Justin cut the rope!" Beth shouted back. Justin raised his sword above his head to cut the other rope but Duncan stopped him by grabbing his arm.

"If you cut that they'll die! That's not what we agreed on!" he told Justin.

"But they're annoying!" Justin complained.

"You can't just kill someone for being annoying!" Duncan said exasperatedly. _If you could I would have already killed this idiot_, he thought. Meanwhile, Harold was swinging his way along the bridge as if it were a monkey bar. Lindsay and Beth began to follow suit, terrified of dropping into the unknown depths below them. Justin still had his sword above his head but he was hesitating, maybe some shred of humanity stirring inside him. In that time, Harold managed to clamber to the edge and Duncan helped him up. Justin frowned as Beth and Lindsay got closer and swung his sword down, cutting the girls loose so they swung back into the fog, hitting the cliff face on the other side, their screams echoing through the canyon.

"Let's go," said Justin.

"No way! We've got to help them," Duncan refused.

"There's nothing we can do now," Justin said sadly, as if he wasn't the one who just sent them to their deaths.

"I have magic!" Harold declared.

"Well fucking use it, you stick brained nerd!" Duncan yelled. Harold gulped and started muttering some words under his breath. Amazingly, as he spoke the fog began to clear, until it was completely gone and the ground was visible. Which, coincidentally, was only a few feet beneath where Beth was hanging. She looked down and quickly dropped to the ground when she realised how close it was. Lindsay was a little higher but she dropped anyway, landing on top of Beth.

"See, no harm done!" Justin smiled. Harold and Duncan glared at him. The girls were safe for now, but there was no way they'd be able to get up the cliff face. Duncan felt a little guilty about leaving them there, though he knew they'd find a way out eventually and now he didn't have to put up with them. But he comforted himself with the thought that soon he'd be by Courtney's side again, even if it would only be for a little while.

* * *

**Hey sorry for taking so long with this chapter! So the dragon is Heather, like I promised Technow! Justin is a jerk, I'm not sure who's a bigger jerk in this story, Justin or Daniel?**

**Courtney and Duncan may be reunited in the next chapter! Who will rescue her? **

**Haha, anyway hope you enjoyed! xx**


	14. Alive

**Chapter Fourteen – Alive**

"How are we going to get past the dragon?" Justin asked. Obviously Duncan already knew, but he shrugged, not wanting to let the other boys know his only advantage. They were close now, they had just passed the home of the Sullivans where Courtney and Duncan had stayed only a couple of nights ago. It seemed like so long ago now, and so much had changed. Duncan sighed out loud, thinking about the time he'd spent with Courtney and how once he'd "rescued" her he'd have to deliver her back to her father and never see her again. Unless of course he chose the prize of marrying her, rather than the money. He shook his head, annoyed with himself for even considered it.

"Is everything okay, Duncan?" Harold burst through his thoughts. Duncan glared at him.

"None of your business, dweeb," Duncan snarled. Harold flinched and went back to looking at his feet as they walked along. Duncan felt a little bad about snapping at the wizard but not enough to apologise. He was really getting on Duncan's nerves as he kept breathing way too loudly and every now and then he'd ask how much further they had to go.

"Why don't you use your magic to find out?" Duncan had snorted.

"I'm a wizard, not a psychic, gosh!" Harold replied, offended. Harold was silent now though and Duncan found relief in the small bout of quiet. Justin gave Duncan a knowing look and gestured towards Harold with his head. Duncan rolled his eyes, not really sure was Justin was trying to say so he simply ignored him. Justin dropped back to walk with Harold and Duncan could hear them whispering but he didn't particularly care, so long as they weren't talking to him.

* * *

Sick of having to crawl around the tower, Courtney decided to try putting some weight on her sprained ankle. As she gingerly stood up she found she could put stand on it for a small amount of time. She couldn't see her ankle or foot as it was still bandaged up, but she guessed it was still fairly bruised, although the swelling had gone down considerably. Her hand on the wall for support, Courtney managed a lap around the tower, limping slightly, but better than not being able to use her leg at all.

Daniel still hadn't returned so she assumed Duncan would be there soon, possibly with guards from the castle. Her heart swelled at the thought of seeing him again, but she immediately scolded herself for being so foolish, remembering what Daniel had said about kidnapping victims falling in love with their captors. _Could it be true?_ she wondered. She didn't particularly trust anything that came out of Daniel's mouth, but it would explain a lot. Why else would she feel any affection for a man who held a knife to her throat, dragged her across the countryside and locked her in a tower? _He saved your life though, _she reminded herself. She exhaled in frustration as she collapsed to the floor after her lap around the tower. She put her head in her hands, wishing there was someone to talk to so she wasn't alone with her own confusing thoughts. As if on cue, Heather's eye appeared at the window. Courtney looked up as the sun was blocked by the huge green dragon.

"What is it?" Courtney asked.

"There are people coming," Heather informed her. Courtney jumped up excitedly, wincing as she put weight on her sore ankle.

"Who is it?" she inquired desperately.

"Your lover and two others," Heather replied.

"He's not my lover," Courtney corrected. Heather snorted loudly, startling Courtney. "What?" she demanded, frowning at the dragon.

"Nothing. You said I can't kill him, but I can kill the other two, right?" Heather asked. Courtney hesitated. She didn't know who the other two were and she didn't want to act too rashly. If they were with Duncan they must be okay.

"No, don't kill them yet," she decided. "But maybe act like you're going to… if it looks too easy for Duncan the others might get suspicious." Heather huffed, flames erupting from her mouth. "Be careful!" Courtney scolded. Heather rolled her huge eye and flew off. Courtney made her way to the window to await the arrival of Duncan and whoever the other two were. She didn't know if Heather would do as she asked, it's not as if the dragon owed her anything, despite the song she had sung for her. She sighed dramatically, resting her arms on the window sill and staring out across the trees.

* * *

Duncan, Harold and Justin stood in the tree line, staring up at the dragon circling above them.

"What do we do now?" Harold asked. "And DON'T suggest I use magic," he added, shooting a look at Duncan who had been about to suggest just that.

"You distract the dragon, Justin will kill it and I'll get to the tower and rescue the princess," Duncan suggested instead. Harold gulped and Justin looked at Duncan in disdain.

"I have a better idea," the lord said. "You and Harold distract the dragon and _I _will save the princess." Harold gulped again but Duncan just rolled his eyes. He knew the toad would say something along those lines, but he wasn't that bothered by it. Neither Justin nor Harold knew about the trapdoor, and he knew that while Harold was acting like a total idiot trying to distract the dragon, and Justin was trying to sneak past, he'd easily be able to make it to the trap door without the dragon burning him to a crisp. He couldn't say the same for Justin and Harold but sometimes sacrifices had to be made.

"Fine," Duncan agreed. Justin looked at him in surprise before glancing at Harold. Harold shrugged. Was it just Duncan's imagination or was there something odd going on between those two? He shook off the feeling, he didn't have time to worry about that right now.

"Ready Wiz?" Duncan asked Harold. Harold screwed up his nose at the nickname but nodded. He and Duncan ran out from the trees and into the clear grassy area between the forest and the rocks. Duncan made sure he was standing directly in front of the trapdoor so he could simply open it and drop down. He and Harold began waving their arms around to try and get the dragon's attention. The great beast spotted them and began flying towards them. Justin ran out from the trees and Duncan smirked to himself, ready to dive into the trapdoor as soon as the dragon got close. He was about to open it when he was knocked away by the great force of Harold. Except it wasn't Harold's body, but some invisible force. _Magic, _Duncan cursed. He looked up from the ground to see Justin grab Harold and drag him through the trapdoor. _How did he know about that?_ Not that it mattered now; Duncan knew he was a dead man. He tried to get up to get to the trapdoor but Harold had knocked the wind from him and he couldn't breathe properly. The dragon was so close now, any second it would barbecue him till he was nothing but bone. Duncan looked up at the tower and saw Courtney standing at the window. He wished he could tell her how much he loved her before he died. He looked back at the dragon and braced himself for the pain, but it never came. The dragon got as close to him as humanly possible before twirling gracefully back into the sky.

"What the?" Duncan stared at the dragon, bewildered. By all intents and purposes he should be dead. Yet here he was, alive.

* * *

Courtney watched as a man with red hair signalled to her fiancé Justin to come out from the trees. The man then made a kind of sweeping gesture and Duncan was thrown to the ground. She wanted to call out to him, but she doubted he'd hear her, and it was a little late now anyway, Justin was already pulling the red haired man down the trap door. She'd recognised Lord Justin Toadie immediately of course, and groaned to herself when she saw him. She'd almost forgotten she had to marry that loathsome man. He was extremely conceited and he usually ignored her or acted like she was a simpleton, just because she was a woman. However, her father had insisted and she felt she had no choice. Besides, she planned to make his life miserable once they were married and that would be fun in itself.

But for now she knew he was headed through the tunnel and would soon be entering the tower to escort her back home. She could not let that happen, or else Duncan wouldn't get his money and this whole thing would be for nothing. She watched as Heather flew up into the sky as Duncan lay on the ground, looking confused.

"Heather!" Courtney called out. The dragon circled back to her and hovered by the window.

"Can I kill him now?" she asked.

"No!" Courtney snapped. "I… I need a favour," she stammered nervously. She wasn't sure how Heather was going to take this.

"What is it?" Heather queried.

"I need you to save us from those other two men," Courtney answered.

"They're already in the tower, I can't kill them from here," Heather pointed out. Courtney took a deep breath before asking the next thing.

"No… but you could carry us away from here," she said firmly, though still worried about the dragon's reaction.

"You want me to carry you. On my back." Heather stated. Courtney nodded. "No way!" Heather refused.

"Please Heather!" Courtney begged.

"Why should I?" Heather sniffed. Courtney could hear footsteps ascending and she knew she didn't have long to convince Heather to help her.

"Because I love him and after today I'll never see him again, and if you let those two imbeciles take me, he'll have no money and I'll be able to do nothing to help him since my father controls all my money and once I'm married to Justin he'll control my money and I can't let Duncan and his family die like that, they deserve better. And Justin deserves nothing!" Courtney ranted. Heather stared at her, saying nothing. "Please, Heather. Haven't you ever been in love?" Courtney begged. At that moment Justin and Harold burst into the room.

"There you are my love!" Justin announced. Harold went to go over to her but Justin pushed him down the stairs.

"Justin!" Courtney gasped.

"I've come to rescue you, let's go!" Justin commanded. Courtney glanced back at Heather who gave a sharp nod. Courtney turned back to Justin.

"No thank you!" she said, flinging herself out the window and onto Heather's back. Justin looked absolutely flabbergasted as Heather flew towards Duncan, pausing so Courtney could haul him onto the dragon's back. Duncan groaned, still feeling the effects of Harold's spell. Courtney smiled at him and he managed a small smile back. Courtney helped him into a sitting position and put her arms around him so he wouldn't slide off, or at least that's what she told herself. The wind rushing through her hair was exhilarating and she'd never felt more alive. It was a shame it wouldn't last long, as she knew they'd be back in Evershire in no time. She pushed the thought from her mind and just enjoyed the moment.

"How do you feel?" she asked Duncan.

"Like I've been run over by a herd of cows," Duncan moaned.

"Don't be such a drama queen!" Courtney laughed. "At least you're alive!"

* * *

**I'm so sorry it's been so long since I updated! I was on placement which takes a lot of energy out of me so I didn't really feel like writing. Anyway hope you enjoyed it! Hopefully I'll update again soon.**

**Hola - Would love to say I'm glad the semester is over but sadly for me it is not! I don't finish until the 30th of May! I live in Australia so by the time I get holidays it will be winter haha! Thanks for spotting the thing about the horses, I totally forgot they had them so I went back and fixed it so they left them behind haha! Thanks for your reviews!**


	15. Old Time

**Chapter Fifteen – Old Time**

It wasn't long till Evershire Castle was in sight and Courtney realised they'd be there very soon. Her stomach dropped at the thought and she wondered if she could think up a reason to stop or slow down. Duncan had completely recovered from Harold's spell and he was sitting up behind her, one arm around her waist and the other stretched out, enjoying the feel of the air rushing through his fingers.

Heather suddenly started slowing down and she circled low, eventually landing in a small clearing just off the main road.

"Why are we stopping?" asked Duncan, once Heather had touched down.

"Get off," she growled. "I can't take you any further or they'll try to attack me. Plus I have some eggs I need to return to," she explained. Courtney and Duncan slid off her back and onto the ground and she immediately took to the sky again.

"Thank you!" Courtney called after her, but if she heard she gave no response. Courtney turned to Duncan. "I guess we have to walk the rest of the way," she shrugged. Duncan nodded and began walk towards the road. "Wait…" Courtney started.

"What is it?" Duncan replied, frowning in confusion.

"Let's walk through the forest. You know, for old time's sake," Courtney suggested. Duncan raised his eyebrows at her and laughed a little, since "old time" was barely a week ago. But he changed course anyway and headed in the direction of Evershire, this time through the forest. Courtney followed happily, secretly glad that they now had more time to spend together. But for some reason, now she couldn't think of a thing to say to him. After all they'd been through together she felt she couldn't just pass the time with small talk about the weather or how his journey went. But at the same time, she didn't want to talk about anything deeper lest she reveal how she felt for him. It's not that she didn't think he would feel the same, in fact, she was fairly certain he did. But she knew that if they confessed their true feelings it would only be more painful when they had to part. And they would have to part, Courtney knew. Even if Justin no longer wanted to marry her (which was likely after how she'd just left him) her father would never allow her to marry a commoner.

Duncan glanced at Courtney and wondered if she realised she'd just sighed for the fifth time in about two minutes. He wasn't really sure why she wanted to walk through the woods, since they were so close to the castle it would probably be quicker to walk on the road. He could only conclude that she thought she'd be safer from Justin in the woods, though Duncan knew there was no way he could catch up with them now.

"Are you alright?" Duncan finally asked Courtney.

"Of course, why wouldn't I be? This nightmare is about to end," Courtney sniffed.

"I've never heard you so quiet. And you keep sighing," Duncan pointed out.

"I'm always quiet!" Courtney protested.

"That's a lie, you usually never shut up," Duncan laughed.

"Only because you're such an imbecile that I consistently have to tell you what to do!" Courtney scoffed.

"So you're being quiet because I'm less of an imbecile now?" Duncan questioned.

"I'm being quiet because you're even more of an imbecile and I've given up hope for you!" Courtney retorted.

"Ha, that's rich coming from someone who is betrothed to the most idiotic man in all the world!" Duncan spat.

"Don't talk about Justin like that! You barely know him!" Courtney replied angrily.

"I think I know him a whole lot better than you! The guy's a disgusting leech!" Duncan said.

"Oh why would you care anyway? Once you've got your money you'll never have to see him or me again!"

"I don't care. Let's just get back to Evershire already." Duncan stated, widening his stride.

"Hmph." Courtney folded her arms and tried to keep up with him.

* * *

They walked in silence for an hour, both still angry at the other. Duncan had thought they were past all this animosity and couldn't understand why Courtney was being so aggressive. Courtney figured it would be easier to say goodbye if they were angry at each other, and the real reason she was angry was not anything that he'd said anyway, since it was all true, but because of the whole situation, which she felt she had no control over.

The pair walked out of the trees and stopped at the edge of a small lake. On the other side of the lake was another expanse of forest which they could see the turrets of Evershire Castle protruding from. Courtney walked to the very edge of the lake and glanced down at her reflection.

"I look a mess," she cringed. She hadn't bathed since they'd spent the night at the Sullivan's house and she was covered in dirt and her hair was all over the place, though she'd tried to redo the braid Wilma Sullivan had done.

"Yeah, you do," Duncan agreed. Courtney glared at him before turning back to the lake. She pulled the ribbon from her hair and slipped off her dress. "What are you doing?" Duncan asked, surprised.

"Getting clean. I can't let my father see me like this. Will you undo my corset?" she asked. Duncan remembered the nervous way she'd asked him the same question back at the Sullivan's house. She wasn't nervous anymore, just extremely assertive. Duncan immediately helped her out of her corset before turning away embarrassed as she pulled off the rest of her clothes and waded out into the lake before diving under.

The water was cool and refreshing on Courtney's skin as she swam further out into the lake. She had no soap or cloth to wash herself with but she scrubbed at her skin with her hands and ran her fingers through her hair to get the knots out.

Duncan stayed on the shore watching her. He thought it best not to join her because for one thing he thought she was probably still mad at him, and for another he thought he should probably be prepared in case anyone happened upon them. He wasn't really paying any attention to his surroundings though, he was to focused on the princess. She was completely covered by the water so he couldn't see anything he wasn't supposed to, but he was captivated by the graceful way she moved through the water.

"Turn around, I'm coming out!" Courtney called. Duncan obeyed her command and turned to face the trees. Courtney walked out of the water and hurriedly donned her petticoat and corset over her wet body. "You'll have to do up my corset," she commanded and Duncan turned back around and began fiddling with the laces. "You really are hopeless!" Courtney scolded as Duncan failed to complete the task he'd been given. "All you have to do is pull the laces tight and then tie them up, it's really quite simple," Courtney instructed. Truth be told, the reason Duncan was having trouble was because he was finding it hard to think straight with her standing so close to him and her bare skin under his fingers and her white petticoat sticking to her wet legs. Eventually he managed to get it done up and Courtney put her dress back on. Her irrational anger had subsided and she turned around and grinned at him and he smiled awkwardly back.

"I guess we should keep going then," Duncan said, a little disappointment evident in his voice.

"Will you braid my hair first?" Courtney asked. Duncan looked at her, a little bewildered.

"I don't know how to braid," he told her.

"I'll teach you," Courtney declared. She sat on the ground and Duncan followed suit. She made sure he was watching carefully as she grabbed the front part of her hair and separated it into three parts and wove them together. "Got it?" she asked, undoing the small braid. Duncan nodded and moved behind her, running his fingers through her hair and gathering it at the back. Courtney closed her eyes, enjoying the feeling of his fingers in her hair and the sun on her face. Duncan was concentrating extremely hard, trying to get the braid right, but Courtney was really fussed with how it looked, it was just her excuse to get him to touch her. She handed him the ribbon when he was done and he tied it at the bottom of the braid. He then stood up and held out his hand to help Courtney to her feet. She took it but didn't let go once she was standing. Duncan squeezed her hand a little before quickly dropping it and wiping his hand on his shirt like she was poison. And he almost felt a little like she was, slowly killing him with little touches and looks when he knew she didn't really want him.

Duncan turned and started walking towards the castle. Courtney felt herself getting frustrated again. Didn't he like her? Did he hate her so much that her touch sickened him?

"Why did you kiss me?" she called after him. Duncan stopped in his tracks but didn't turn around.

"What?" he replied, although he had heard her perfectly well.

"You heard me!" Courtney retorted. Duncan turned to face her. He looked at the ground and shrugged.

"I don't know," he said quietly.

"That's it then?" Courtney spat. "You're just going to drop me off at the castle, take your money and leave?"

"That's what we always agreed on! What else could you possibly think would happen? I'd watch you marry Justin and he'd hire me as his servant so you can see me whenever you want?" Duncan scoffed.

"No! I thought… ugh, never mind what I thought!" Courtney threw her hands up and stomped past him towards the castle. He grabbed her arm as she passed, forcing her to stop and face him. "What?" she snapped. She looked up at him, trying to stop the tears that had welled up in her eyes from rolling down her cheeks.

"Princess…" Duncan started softly. He searched her eyes, wondering what she needed him to say, how she felt, what she wanted, what she was thinking. He couldn't find the answers to those questions, but he knew how _he _felt, what _he _wanted, and what _he _was thinking. And he thought maybe, just maybe it was the same for her. So he closed his eyes and pressed his lips to hers, wrapping his arms around her at the same time. Though surprised at first, it wasn't long before Courtney had her body pressed up against Duncan's and her arms around his neck, her fingers in his hair as they hungrily devoured each other. Before it could get any further, Duncan broke the kiss. They were both panting heavily, desire and adrenaline running through their veins.

"Courtney, I kissed you because I love you," Duncan told her.

"Really?" Courtney whispered. Duncan nodded.

"I feel the same," Courtney smiled.

"But what about Justin?" Duncan asked nervously.

"I ditched him to fly off on a dragon with you, I doubt he still wants to marry me. But even if he does, I don't want to marry him. What you said about him before was right, he is a disgusting, idiotic leech and probably worse," Courtney laughed. Her face fell then as she realised though it made her happy that Duncan loved her, it would not be enough for her father, who wanted her to marry someone with a high station. She said as much to Duncan.

"There's something I haven't told you that I probably should have…" Duncan responded. Courtney looked at him questioningly, feeling a little worried at what he might have to say. "Your father… he changed the prize."

"He's not going to give you money?" Courtney said angrily.

"No, he is. If I want it. But there's a choice now. I can choose to take the money, or I can choose to… marry you," Duncan revealed. Courtney stared at him with her mouth open. "So I guess what I'm saying is…" Duncan knelt on the ground on one knee and took her hands in his. "Will you marry me?" Courtney didn't even pause to consider it. She grabbed his face and pulled his lips to hers, dragging him to his feet again.

"Yes! Yes I'll marry you," she said between kisses. She grabbed Duncan's hand and ran off towards the castle, pulling him with her. Suddenly she couldn't wait to get home.

* * *

**Hey everyone, sorry this chapter took so long! I think there's going to be like 2 or 3 more chapters maybe? Hope you enjoyed it!**


	16. Like Heaven

**Chapter Sixteen – Like Heaven**

"Princess!" one of the guards exclaimed in shock as he saw Courtney and Duncan approaching.

"Yes, I'm back. This man saved me from the dragon," Courtney indicated Duncan.

"I'm sure your father will reward him accordingly," the guard replied. Courtney looked at Duncan and smiled.

"Yes, I'm sure he will," Courtney agreed. The guard sent someone on ahead to let King Chris know his daughter had returned while he himself escorted the princess and her companion inside the castle. It wasn't long before the bells were ringing to alert the city that Princess Courtney had returned. Courtney, Duncan and the guard were on the way to the throne room when Chris came flying down the hallway and threw his arms around his daughter, hugging her tightly.

"Courtney, I'm so glad you're alright!" he said, kissing her forehead.

"It was thanks to Duncan, Father," Courtney told him. Chris turned to Duncan and shook his hand.

"Thank you so much for returning my daughter safely to me. You will be rewarded, but first how would you like to wash up and put on some clean clothes? What are you wearing Courtney? It looks awful." Chris looked his daughter up and down in disgust. She could only imagine what he would have thought had she not taken the time to bathe in the lake.

"A farmer's wife gave it to me," Courtney defended.

"A farmer's wife? What…?" Chris began but then trailed off, shaking his head. "Never mind, you can tell me the whole story later. Noah!" Chris called and his servant approached. "Show Duncan where he can sleep for tonight and draw him a hot bath. Also, find him some clean clothes." Chris instructed. Noah nodded and gestured for Duncan to follow him. Courtney hugged her father again before walking to her own room. Gwen, Bridgette and her maid, Sierra, were waiting for her.

"I drew you a bath, my lady," Sierra said with a curtsey.

"Thanks, Sierra, we can take it from here," Bridgette said and Sierra hurried off. As soon as she was gone Bridgette and Gwen grabbed Courtney and pulled her into an embrace.

"Where have you been?" Gwen asked.

"We were so worried!" Bridgette added.

"How did you get back?" Gwen continued.

"Are you alright?" Bridgette asked, concerned.

"I'm fine!" Courtney cut them off before they could ask anything else. "I was kidnapped as I'm sure you know, but I was rescued and I'm back now," she explained. She'd realised when her father said to tell him the whole story later that she and Duncan hadn't worked out a story. Who should she say actually kidnapped her? She shouldn't have mentioned the farmer's wife, she didn't want to implicate them. Luckily her words seemed to placate the girls for now though she was sure they'd want more details later. But for now they were more interested in who had saved her.

"Who rescued you?" Bridgette asked.

"A man…" Courtney started.

"Is he rich?" Gwen asked.

"Is he handsome?" Bridgette wanted to know.

"Is he strong?" Gwen questioned.

"Did you know your father is offering a choice between money and your hand in marriage as a reward?" Bridgette added.

"No he isn't rich. But he is handsome and strong… and yes I did know my father was offering my hand in marriage as a prize. And I'm very happy about it," Courtney grinned.

"Ooooohhh!" Bridgette gushed. Gwen gave Courtney a knowing look and Courtney rolled her eyes.

"Get out you two, and send Sierra back so I can get out of these clothes and into the bath, unless one of you wants to do it," Courtney ordered playfully.

"Maybe we should send your man in to do it," Bridgette said with a wink. Courtney grabbed a pillow from the bed and threw it at her friend as she ran from the room laughing, followed by Gwen. Little did either girl know, Duncan had already undressed her. Though it hadn't bothered her at the time, she blushed at the thought of it now. Sierra came back in and Courtney composed herself and allowed her maid to undress her so that she could get into the bath.

* * *

Duncan was amazed at the glamour of the room Noah led him to. A four poster bed was in the centre of the room and there was a fire blazing in the enormous fireplace against one wall, a tub of water sitting in the coals. Heavy curtains framed the huge window that looked out over a pretty courtyard. There was another servant waiting in the room who nodded to Duncan and Noah when they entered. He'd obviously been sent on ahead to ready the room.

"I get to sleep here tonight?" Duncan asked Noah.

"No, I'm just giving you a tour of the whole castle." Noah rolled his eyes. "Yes, you get to sleep here." Duncan gave Noah a look of disdain before throwing himself on the huge bed and sinking in to the soft pillows. He sighed in satisfaction, he'd never felt anything so comfortable. Noah walked over to the tub on the fire and tested the temperature.

"It's warm enough," he stated. The other servant walked over and the two of them pulled the tub from the fire. "Do you need help undressing, sir?" Noah asked. Duncan had never been called sir before, but he felt like Noah was mocking him somehow. After all, in reality Noah was a man with a stable job in a king's palace and Duncan was a no good criminal and it seemed as if Noah wasn't happy to be waiting on someone obviously below him in station.

"No, thanks," Duncan replied curtly. Noah and the other servant exited the room, leaving Duncan to undress himself and lower himself into the warm water. Being as poor as he was, Duncan rarely bathed and when he did it was in cold water. The warm bath was like heaven and Duncan thought he could really get used to this kind of life.

* * *

Twenty minutes later Noah returned with clothes for Duncan to replace the dirty old tunic and breeches he had been wearing. Duncan couldn't figure out how to put on the various garments and had to get Noah to help him, despite the servant's less than enthusiastic attitude. The attire was much finer than anything Duncan had ever lay his hands on before and he felt a little foolish, especially when he saw the smirk on Noah's face. Duncan gave Noah a threatening look but the servant just shook his head and lead Duncan back to the throne room to see the king.

Chris was sitting on his throne looking very self important when Duncan entered the throne room.

"Duncan! My good man! I hope the room was to your satisfaction?" Chris said joyfully. Duncan nodded. "Great! Well I hope you've thought about what reward you'd like? As promised you can either have one thousand gold pieces or my daughter's hand in marriage," Chris said.

"I have, Your Grace," Duncan replied.

"And?" Chris prompted. Duncan hesitated for a moment, for some weird reason he was afraid that if Duncan told the king what he wanted, Chris would laugh in is face. He wished Courtney were there for moral support.

"Uhh…" he started. The doors of the throne room flew open then and Courtney strode into the room. Duncan breathed a sigh of relief as she walked over and stood by his side. Courtney looked beautiful in her fancy gown and gold jewellery, her light brown hair styled around an elaborate tiara. It hit Duncan then, as he'd almost forgotten, that Courtney was actually a real life princess. Could someone like him really be allowed to marry her? He took a deep breath and she smiled at him reassuringly.

"Well, Duncan?" Chris pressed. Duncan turned his attention back to the king.

"I would like to claim your daughter's hand in marriage, Your Grace," Duncan told him. Chris nodded.

"Very well! It's settled then. You two can be married in a month, and you will live here from now on. We can't have a future prince living in poverty!" Chris declared. Duncan grinned, relieved and excited at the same time. Courtney slipped her hand into his and held it tightly. Duncan wanted to ask about his family, but he thought maybe now wasn't the best time. Especially since King Chris seemed to have moved on from the topic already. "I have some great news!" Chris announced. "In the dungeons right now is the dirty criminal who was responsible for your kidnapping, Courtney!" he said gleefully. Courtney and Duncan shared a look of confusion. What poor soul had taken the blame for Duncan's crimes?

"Father? I don't understand… how did you catch him?" Courtney asked.

"We found a witness and he described the wretch. We're fairly certain this is the fellow, he was caught stealing from a home in the town closest to Dragonflame Tower," Chris explained. "We'll need you to confirm it's him though."

"I… I don't know if I could… I mean…" Courtney said nervously. She didn't want to condemn a man to death who'd done nothing wrong.

"Nonsense! You were with him almost a week! I'm sure you'll know if it's him or not," Chris assured her. "Besides, we also have the witness here for more confirmation. He'll need to be rewarded also. Guard! Go and fetch the criminal from the dungeons," Chris ordered, and one of the guards at the door headed out to complete Chris's request. While they waited Duncan and Courtney tried to communicate without words what they were going to do, but it was a little hard with the king sitting there staring at them. Who was the witness? And could they let someone take the fall for Duncan?

After what felt like a lifetime, the guard returned.

"The prisoner, You Grace," the guard announced. The doors swung open and two guards entered, holding a man by the arms which were chained behind him. The guards threw the man to the ground and from his knees he looked up, a look of desperation and remorse on his face.

"I'm so sorry," he whispered. Duncan stared in shock at his brother Daniel kneeling before him.

* * *

**Hey y'all, another chapter! Did anyone see that coming? haha!**

**Hope you enjoyed it!**


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